After the 2020 presidential election, I heard activists say, “politics do not stop at big federal elections.” Local politics have a more immediate effect on your life and are where you have the most influence.
Some folks turned their attention to the 2021 Utah General Legislative Session. They saw attacks on women’s autonomy, trans rights, comprehensive health care and more. Others did not know where to start.
No matter where you are at, there is one issue we all can and should get behind: ensuring our legislators draw fair voting maps this fall. This process is important to me — and should be to you — because it only happens once every 10 years. In the past, voting maps were manipulated to disempower communities. This year I want my community and the issues I care about to be accounted for.
The drawing of new voting maps significantly affects who is on my ballot and what districts I vote in. If legislators are left to their own devices, maps will no doubt be drawn to help current politicians — similar to what happened 10 years ago — at the expense of consistent districts and fair elections.
As a college student, a reproductive freedom organizer, and a human, I see room for improvement in current Utah laws. Ensuring my voice is heard and has equal weight is the only way I can push for meaningful change. Expanding access to safe, legal abortion care, contraceptives and period products are my top priorities. Your priorities might focus on water use, affordable housing, parks and recreation or something entirely different.
Elected officials can either be our greatest support or our biggest challenge. That is why it is crucial we pick our representatives, not the other way around.
Additionally, taking care of our communities starts with keeping neighborhoods intact. Identifying needs can be hard when folks are tossed around and split up for political gain. The lines drawn this fall will determine my community’s resources for the next ten years.
In the next decade, I’ll find a partner. I might even have kids. During this time, I will need reproductive freedom and healthcare access more than ever, and the same goes for most of the other young adults my age. My community needs fair maps so we can take care of ourselves in the coming years.
Lastly, bad maps can compound the marginalization and inequalities of certain communities and identities, some of which I am a part of. Groups can be diluted among many districts or packed into a few: both to disadvantage voters. People of color, immigrants, people who are unsheltered, LGBTQ+ people and people who are disabled already face significant barriers to voting and receiving adequate resources and care. Assuring everyone’s vote matters equally will get us closer to meeting the needs of all people.
Creating fair voting maps is a once-in-a-decade responsibility that will impact your life and the issues you care about. This redistricting year is especially important because we the people voted by ballot referendum in November of 2018 to create an expert, impartial commission to recommend their own maps for consideration. Here’s how you can get involved:
Get online and submit what you see as the boundaries for your community as a part of the Utah Redistricting Coalition mapping drive. Your map will be submitted to the Independent Redistricting Commission as public comment.
Contact your representatives and ask them to adopt the Independent Redistricting Commission maps.
Learn more by visiting utahredistricting.org and following the Utah Redistricting Coalition on Instagram.
If you care about reproductive freedom and community care, you care about fair voting districts.
Natalie Williams
Natalie Williams is a junior at Utah Valley University studying political science with a concentration in peace and justice studies.