Redistricting Matters

WHY IS REDISTRICTING IMPORTANT TO OWA?

Redistricting is one of the most important projects that the Ohio Women’s Alliance could participate in for 2021. Every ten years, the state of Ohio re-draws our federal and state congressional districts, which is commonly known as redistricting. As people and communities change and grow, our legislative districts should change to reflect the voting needs of our communities.

It was important for the Ohio Women’s Alliance to play a role in redistricting because of the history of gerrymandering in Ohio and the major impact it had on politics and policy over the past 30 years. Gerrymandering is when politicians manipulate the process of redrawing legislative lines to help their friends and hurt their enemies (FairVote.org). The truth is Ohio’s congressional districts do not reflect the majority of Ohioans, especially voters of color, womxn voters, voters in urban areas, and poor voters. The current process of redistricting treats all Ohio voters as the enemy as long as gerrymandering continues to redraw lines that are not representative of who we are! 

HOW WE ENGAGED

As a Reproductive Justice organization rooted in self-determination, we had to play a role in trying to shape districts to be more representative of actual communities and the people of Ohio -  not just for those who wish to remain in power unchecked. Ohio Women’s Alliance is a part of the Equal Districts Coalition, which was formed to make sure the people of Ohio have a say in what redistricting for our communities looks like. Through a grant from the Coalition, we held several community events across Ohio and had nearly 40 community maps drawn and submitted! From Cleveland to Columbus to and from Dayton and to Mansfield, seven redistricting fellows held conversations within their own communities about the importance of redistricting and instructed participants to draw maps and specify where their community is, who lives within it, and what makes their community special. 

To view some of the maps submitted, visit this link and search “OWA” at the bottom: https://portal.ohio-mapping.org/ 

For this project, we centered communities that are often left off the table when talking about the impact of redistricting and who benefits from these legislative map changes. We engaged with community members that were womxn, BIPOC, and poor and working-class folks. But during the community conversations that were hosted, attendees discussed complex and devastating issues such as food insecurity and gentrification, showing how lack of proper support and accountability through fair districts actually has real-life consequences. 

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Charmaine Webster, a redistricting fellow and a faith-based organizer out of Dayton, stated, “What stood out to me was a pattern of divestment in communities with a higher concentration of Black and Brown folks. In more urban communities people would have to leave their community to get groceries, go shopping and have fun with their families. I intentionally did an interview with a member of a  suburban community and they did not have that issue.”  

Heather, our redistricting fellow from Columbus, spoke about the history of a map one community member drew for the Brentnell neighborhood. She sharess, “I had one map from Brentnell community. The community member explained that investors had plagued the community by buying and selling property without regard to the history of the community or the people within the community.” She continues, “the community member spoke highly of the basketball court that used to be the center of the community, but now how the community was run down.”

Both communities sit in gerrymandered districts meant to fracture the collective voting power of communities that are BIPOC, poor and tend to vote for progressives. Communities like West Dayton and the Brentnell neighborhood are both reflections of how power is used to disenfranchise communities where voting power is not reflective of the community’s identity, values, needs and when there is no accountability for the elected officials who draft these discriminatory districts. 

Tell the Redistricting Commission to do their jobs and share their maps! Take action here.