The NDRC’s 2018 target states
The truth is, we have to organize to help make voting easier for people. There are far too many people who are currently in power who have wielded their power to restrict the vote as much as possible. But the tide is turning.
The National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), led by Eric Holder and supported by President Obama, was formed to tackle redistricting reform. For the 2017/2018 elections cycle, they targeted 12 states where they wanted to make big strides to improve voting rights. They targeted big statewide races like governor’s seats, plus specific state legislatures, and even down ballot races and ballot measures in states where redistricting reform was crucial.
The midterms last week didn’t give them a clean sweep, but you can see the hopeful shifts and momentum in the states and races that they focused on:
COLORADO
Governor – Democratic hold
State Senate – Flipped Democratic
FLORIDA
Governor – Not decided yet (Andrew Gillum vs. Ron DeSantis)
State Senate – GOP holds, no change
GEORGIA
Governor – Not decided yet (Stacey Abrams vs. Brian Kemp)
State Senate – GOP holds, but Democrats improve from 19–37 to 20–36
MICHIGAN
Governor – Flipped Democratic
State Senate – GOP holds, but Democrats improve from 10–27 to 16–22
State House – GOP holds, but Democrats improve from 46–63 to 52–59
State Supreme Court – Democrats flip one of the two seats they were targeting
Ballot Initiative – Proposal 3 passes, which institutes automatic voter registration and makes voting easier in many ways
MINNESOTA
Governor – Democratic hold
State Senate – Not decided yet, Senate was 33–33, now is 33–34 but there’s one vacant seat
State House – Flipped Democratic
NEVADA
Governor – Flipped Democratic
State Senate – Democrats lead improved from 10–8 to 13–8
State Assembly – Democrats lead improved 27–14 to 27–12
NORTH CAROLINA
State Senate – GOP holds, but Democrats improve from 15–34 to 21–29
State House – GOP holds, but Democrats improve from 45–75 to 54–66
State Supreme Court – Democrats flipped the seat they were targeting
OHIO
Governor – GOP holds
State Senate – GOP holds, Democrats lose one seat
State House – GOP holds, but Democrats improve from 32–66 to 36–63
Secretary of State – GOP holds
State Auditor – GOP holds
PENNSYLVANIA
Governor – Democratic hold
State Senate – GOP holds, but Democrats improve from 16–33 to 21–28
State House – GOP holds, but Democrats improve from 79–120 to 91–108
TEXAS
State Senate – GOP holds, but Democrats improve from 10–21 to 12–19
State House – GOP holds, but Democrats improve from 55–93 to 65–77
VIRGINIA
Governor – Democratic hold (this election was in 2017)
House of Delegates – Democrats flipped 15 seats to make it 51–49 (in 2017)
WISCONSIN
Governor – Flipped Democratic
State Senate – GOP holds and gains one seat
If you care about increasing voting rights around the country, and influencing the way we redistrict, then focusing on gains we can make at the state-level is the effective way to go. I encourage you to check out the NDRC, donate to their efforts if you can, and definitely sign up to get their updates.
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