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Alabama lawmakers will head back to the state capitol for a special session to redraw the state's congressional district map on Monday. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state violated the Voting Rights Acts by following the current congressional district map. Town hall meetings are being held ahead of the special session to educate the public about what's going on. Organizers of Thursday’s town hall in Anniston want to make sure voters know how the new map will affect them, especially since the final map will determine how congressional districts look for the next 10 years.“A lot of my constituents say, ‘We never know what's going on,” Alabama State District 32 Rep. Dr. Barbara Bigsby Boyd said. “'Oh, we don't know.’ These pre-hearings give them an opportunity to know what redistricting is all about.”Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WVTM 13 A town hall hosted by the Alabama House Democratic Caucus showed voters how the new congressional district map proposal will impact their voices at the polls.“There's such a thin margin the eyes of the nation will be watching what happens in Alabama,” former Republican lawmaker Paul DeMarco said. “Will Republicans keep this sixth district, or will Democrats come back and get a second district in Alabama?”And if you ask him, gerrymandering doesn't just negatively impact communities of color.“If you look at states or who are primarily you going to call them blue states,” DeMarco said, “they have gerrymandered districts so that more Democrats will get elected.”And that's where some Democrats and Republicans agree.“That's how you get things done,” Calhoun County NAACP Assistant Vice President Richard Jackson said. “You vote. People vote according to the district. That's how we got a Republican majority in these two southern states.”But others like Anniston vice mayor Ciara Smith have a hard time believing communities of color aren’t negatively impacted and said gerrymandering is nothing new in the United States.“We have very, very low representation amongst our congresspeople,” she said. “This added district will give us a little bit more power in D.C.”Bigsby-Boyd says there should already be two minority districts in Alabama, and it's time for Democrats to take matters into their own hands and do what's best for their communities.Follow us on social: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube“Why can't we get it right the first time without the court having to tell us what to do?” she asked. “We know better and to God be the glory that we will do better this time.”Lawmakers will vote to approve one of four maps during a special session. They’ll have until Friday to make a decision before the map is sent to federal judges.
ANNISTON, Ala. —
Alabama lawmakers will head back to the state capitol for a special session to redraw the state's congressional district map on Monday. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state violated the Voting Rights Acts by following the current congressional district map.
Town hall meetings are being held ahead of the special session to educate the public about what's going on. Organizers of Thursday’s town hall in Anniston want to make sure voters know how the new map will affect them, especially since the final map will determine how congressional districts look for the next 10 years.
“A lot of my constituents say, ‘We never know what's going on,” Alabama State District 32 Rep. Dr. Barbara Bigsby Boyd said. “'Oh, we don't know.’ These pre-hearings give them an opportunity to know what redistricting is all about.”
Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WVTM 13
A town hall hosted by the Alabama House Democratic Caucus showed voters how the new congressional district map proposal will impact their voices at the polls.
“There's such a thin margin the eyes of the nation will be watching what happens in Alabama,” former Republican lawmaker Paul DeMarco said. “Will Republicans keep this sixth district, or will Democrats come back and get a second district in Alabama?”
And if you ask him, gerrymandering doesn't just negatively impact communities of color.
“If you look at states or who are primarily you going to call them blue states,” DeMarco said, “they have gerrymandered districts so that more Democrats will get elected.”
And that's where some Democrats and Republicans agree.
“That's how you get things done,” Calhoun County NAACP Assistant Vice President Richard Jackson said. “You vote. People vote according to the district. That's how we got a Republican majority in these two southern states.”
But others like Anniston vice mayor Ciara Smith have a hard time believing communities of color aren’t negatively impacted and said gerrymandering is nothing new in the United States.
“We have very, very low representation amongst our congresspeople,” she said. “This added district will give us a little bit more power in D.C.”
Bigsby-Boyd says there should already be two minority districts in Alabama, and it's time for Democrats to take matters into their own hands and do what's best for their communities.
Follow us on social: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
“Why can't we get it right the first time without the court having to tell us what to do?” she asked. “We know better and to God be the glory that we will do better this time.”
Lawmakers will vote to approve one of four maps during a special session. They’ll have until Friday to make a decision before the map is sent to federal judges.
English (US)