Redistricting

WHEREAS, a core goal of the NAACP is to ensure that Black people can freely and fully participate in the electoral process of the United States; and

WHEREAS, throughout 2021 and 2022, states and localities across the country have reapportioned and redrawn, or are in the process of redrawing, their electoral districts at all levels of government following the 2020 Census; and

WHEREAS, this redistricting cycle, the first in over 50 years which does not have the protections created by preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, has been subjected to unrelenting assaults on the equitable representation of Black voters, with districts drawn to preserve white, rural power and dilute the voting strength of Black voters; and,

WHEREAS, any possibility of a fair and equitable redistricting process has been further hindered by the Census Bureau's significant undercount of communities of color ensuring that the maps drawn would be inherently biased toward white representation and away from proper representation for Black people; and

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court is now using the Purcell Doctrine to prohibit federal courts from enjoining a state's election laws close to the beginning of an election cycle even if the election will be conducted using a racially discriminatory redistricting plan.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP reaffirms its commitment laid out in its 2010 Redistricting Resolution that "all NAACP units work to influence and prepare the development of alternative redistricting plans for the state, county, congressional, city, school board elections, [and] districts" in those areas still engaged in map drawing or in continuing legal battles over maps.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that all NAACP units work to counteract the impact of discriminatory maps through conducting in-depth voter registration, outreach, and education campaigns.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that all NAACP units, urge the Census Bureau to stop the continual undercount of Black people which serves to disenfranchise Black people.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the NAACP units, commit to resisting the continuing degradation of the rights and protections established by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and the Voting Rights Act through both litigation and political campaigns to pass legislation, for instance, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 (H.R. 4), to substantively repair the damage done to the Voting Rights Act.