The Map, The Movement, and the Latest Hi Friend! There’s been a lot of "noise" lately - court rulings, map battles, shifting rules - and it’s easy to miss what’s actually driving it all. So before we go any further, let’s take a step back. Because if you understand how the map is drawn, you understand how the game is played.
First...a quick "redistricting 101"With all the redistricting hype over the past several years (and especially as of late), more people than not seem to be under the impression that redistricting is a newer concept, but it actually goes back to the Framers. As a volunteer, it's important to know where and why it started. When the House of Representatives was built, the Framers tied representation to population: after the census every 10 years, states have to redraw district lines to keep the balance. Simple idea. Messy reality. Politics and pulls for power entered in...almost right away. In 1812, Massachussetts Governor Elbridge Gerry reluctantly signed a map his party designed to crush the opposition. The design was so bizarre, in fact, that the press quite literally turned it into what we know as "memes" (yes, seriously) of cartoon salamanders. Thus...we now have the term "Gerry-mander". There are two core tools: - Packing: cramming opposition voters into one district so they win big there and nowhere else
- Cracking: splitting a community across multiple districts so their votes never add up anywhere
When used together, they let whoever draws the map lock in wins before a single ballot is cast. In the 1960s, Courts stepped in with the "one person, one vote" standards, and the Voting Rights Act added protection against maps that dilute minority voting power. But in 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts can't hear partisan gerrymandering claims at all, leaving those fights to state courts. Redistricting determines who has a voice, how much that voice counts, and whether outcomes reflect that voice...or just whoever controls the maps. How big is this fight?Big enough to where LegiTrack is currently hosting approximately 70 bills that mention redistricting/gerrymandering. The process has just become more weaponized over time, which is why the recent SCOTUS win was so monumental for all eligible voters👇 Stay tuned for more...states have been quickly reacting - on both sides.
Citizen Spotlight: Dennis Took It to the TopWhen Dennis lost his mother, Social Security demanded his bank return her monthly check. He then asked, “why can’t the same funeral homes notify the respective boards of elections of deaths in their respective jurisdictions?" And he didn't just stop there - he wrote directly to officials, including the President, calling for a common-sense fix: “Please consider a mandate where the Social Security Administration must turn over its Master Death Index showing deceased people to their respective boards of elections where they were registered. Social Security is notified, by law, to be informed by funeral homes who is deceased in order to discontinue their benefits now so why can't this be done?For the last 3 years I have been a member of one of the many voter integrity groups working on securing honest elections. Among many other anomalies, we have uncovered thousands of dead people remaining on the active voter rolls. We have presented their names to their respective boards of elections. Many times we have found that those boards don't always remove their names from the rolls.I believe the social security master death index, if shared with the proper boards of elections can go a long way to solving this problem.The logic is hard to argue with. Social Security is already legally notified by funeral homes when someone passes, so their benefits stop. Why shouldn't that same information automatically reach the people managing our voter rolls? Over the years, True the Vote has frequently led similar efforts, but the conclusion is always the same: local action is always the most powerful. Your voice is what counts. Dennis isn't alone in what he asked. Receiving a deceased loved one's ballot in the mail years after they're gone isn't just a data problem - it's a painful reminder that nobody cleaned up the rolls. That's where you come in. You don't have to write to the President to make a difference - though you certainly can. Start close to home. Use Scan. Check. Protect. to verify whether a deceased family member is still on the rolls. If they are, report it to your local election administrator and request their removal. Document the response, and if nothing happens - keep pushing. Dennis did. So can you.
Finally...single sign-on (SSO)!As we continue to build out efforts, we're making signing in as efficient as possible. SSO lets users access multiple systems with one login - making it easier to use and harder to breach - and it also gives you centralized control of your sign-in credentials. Right now, if you have both a LegiTrack and TTVN Community login, you can enter your credentials in one time and get logged into both. This way your system will store your credentials as a single login experience for future use. To get started, log out of the TTV Now Community, go back to the login page, and select "Continue with True the Vote" to log back into TTVN and LegiTrack in one go and store your SSO👇  |
If you currently only have one login (TTVN or LegiTrack), good news! As IV3 relaunches (coming soon!) and more initiatives develop and evolve, all of your logins for TTV efforts can be combined into this same SSO experience. We highly recommend signing up for both LegiTrack and the Community, however, to streamline communications with others within both platforms 👇  |
The landscape is shifting, and what happens next will be shaped by those who stay engaged. Keep showing up - your work is making a difference where it counts. God bless you and God bless America. Ever Onward! “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise.” — Ephesians 5:15 https://truethevote.org/donate https://donate.ttvnow.org/ | 
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