Curious what your new districts will look like when you go to the polls next year? Here’s an overview of how MA’s legislative districts changed. If you don’t see your district on here, that means it didn’t change.
NOTE: All precinct numbering in the below spreadsheets refer to the precincts as they existed 2012-2021. Go here for the new numbering.
This Wednesday, the MA House and Senate passed new district lines for Massachusetts’s 9 Congressional districts.
After every decennial US census, states have to redraw the lines for their legislative and Congressional districts. Massachusetts, fortunately, did not lose any Congressional districts, but population shifts meant that some districts — like the 1st Congressional (Richard Neal) and 2nd Congressional (Jim McGovern) — would need to gain more territory and others — like the 7th Congressional (Ayanna Pressley) and 8th Congressional (Stephen Lynch) — would need to lose territory.
The main point of contention with the Congressional maps concerned Fall River and New Bedford. The Drawing Democracy Coalition, which consists of community groups and civil rights advocates from across the Commonwealth (we’re a member), had been advocating for keeping Fall River whole and uniting it with New Bedford in the 9th Congressional district (Bill Keating) given that Fall River and New Bedford share many concerns as gateway cities with large immigrant populations. Moreover, as coastal cities, they share a clear interest with the Cape communities in the 9th.
The Legislature’s map unites Fall River, but does so by putting all of it in the 4th Congressional district (Jake Auchincloss), a strangely designed district that extends from Brookline and Newton down to Fall River.
The House passed the new map 151 to 8. The 8 dissenting votes came from Democrats Christopher Markey (D-Dartmouth) and Alan Silvia (D-Fall River), who heeded the objections from South Coast advocates, and Republicans Donald Berthiaume (R-Spencer), Peter Durant (R-Spencer), Paul Frost (R-Auburn), Joseph McKenna (R-Webster), Lenny Mirra (R-West Newbury), and David Vieira (R-Falmouth). Frost had put forth an amendment about keeping all of Oxford and Webster in the 2nd Congressional district as opposed to moving them to the 1st Congressional, as the new map does, and it’s likely that he and the other Central Mass dissenters voted against the map because of that amendment’s failure.
The debate was far more contentious in the Senate. State Senator Becca Rausch (D-Needham) criticized the map for its scrambling of the lines in MetroWest (“I live in and have the honor of representing parts of Metrowest and this map would slash Metrowest into bits and pieces, divided into five different congressional districts…The Metrowest region has the highest concentration of Brazilian immigrants in the United States.) and separation of Fall River and New Bedford (“We should not divide the two anchor communities of the South Coast. Indeed all of the equity-focused and strong democracy advocates and the strong majority of people who live in Fall River who testified before the committee asked for Fall River and New Bedford to be untied in the ninth district.”) State Senator Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton) echoed such criticism (“It continues to send the message to Southeastern Massachusetts that we in the metropolitan area of Boston, we will continue to do what we want with you and we will use you when we need to but otherwise we will just continue to do what we want when we want to.”)
The vote was much closer in the Senate, with the map only passing 26 to 13, with most of the opposition coming from either stalwart progressives or Southeastern senators.
See all the changes to the map here:
| The Drawing Democracy Coalition, which consists of civil rights, democracy, and community groups across the Commonwealth, has been fighting to achieve fair districts that equitably represent communities of color, low-income people, and immigrants through a transparent process and maximum community engagement. After reviewing the maps proposed by the Joint Committee on Redistricting, the coalition has important recommendations that would improve representation in the MA Legislature. Read the Coalition’s Senate recommendations — and contact your legislator here. Read the coalition’s House recommendations — and contact your legislators here.  |
You can also submit public comment here by tomorrow (Monday) at 5 pm.
This year — likely this MONTH, the Massachusetts Legislature will be drawing the legislative and Congressional districts for the next decade. The Drawing Democracy Coalition recently released a Unity Map informed by community groups across the state. What are the key features of this map? How does one set priorities in redistricting? What makes a map fair? And how can we be effective advocates?
We’ll have a discussion with Jordan Berg Powers of Mass Alliance, Beth Huang of the Massachusetts Voter Table, and Roberto JimĂ©nez Rivera of the Boston Teachers Union. (Additional speakers may be announced.)
Missed the event? Watch it here.
Missed
Tomorrow, the MA Senate will be taking up the VOTES Act, which contains a number of important pro-democracy reforms such as making expanded early voting and vote-by-mail permanent and enacting Same Day Registration so that voters can register or update their registration at the polls.
The MA Senate deserves credit for advancing a strong and comprehensive bill with popular, time-tested, and effective reforms. But the Senate can also make the bill even stronger by including the following amendments:
Amendment #1 (Hinds): Protecting ballot access for eligible incarcerated people, which would require correctional officials to send incarcerated individuals information about their rights, distribute registration forms and absentee ballots to all eligible voters, and ensure that the votes are collected and transferred to election officials, among other reforms to the jail-based voting language.
Amendment #4 (Rausch): Paid time off for voting, which would guarantee workers 2 hours of paid time off to vote, making sure that long hours are not a barrier to participation.
Amendment #111 (Chang-Diaz): Providing Access for Transliterated Ballots, which provides for transliteration of ballots in languages that do not use the Roman alphabet, thereby ensuring that language is not a barrier to full participation.
Amendment #17 (Rausch): Ensuring Access to Ballot Drop Boxes, which requires municipalities to have at least one secure and accessible drop box location with a requirement that larger ones have at least one secured municipal ballot drop box for each twenty-five thousand registered voters.
Amendments #18 & 19 (Rausch): Ensuring Election Day Registration in All Elections / Ensuring Vote By Mail Access in Municipal Elections, which ensure that the reforms in the bill apply to preliminary and general municipal elections. Amendment #28 (Rausch): Permitting Vote By Mail Ballots to be Returned to Regular Polling Places, which would allow voters to drop off mail ballots at their regular polling locations.
Can you email your state senator in support of these important amendments?
Right now, families are charged exorbitant fees to maintain vital connections with incarcerated loved ones. This is a regressive tax on the most vulnerable populations of the Commonwealth that also harms public safety by limiting communication and weakening community bonds .
While only 21 percent of the state’s population is Black or Latinx, more than 54 percent of the people imprisoned by the Department of Corrections are. Black and Latinx children are, respectively, nine and three times more likely than White children to have a parent in prison. As communities already struggle with the high cost of housing, health care, and transportation, no one should be forced to choose between paying rent or buying groceries and maintaining contact with loved ones.
Today, the Judiciary Committee will be hearing testimony on important legislation to eliminate such fees.
This year — likely this MONTH, the Massachusetts Legislature will be drawing the legislative and Congressional districts for the next decade. The Drawing Democracy Coalition recently released a Unity Map informed by community groups across the state. What are the key features of this map? How does one set priorities in redistricting? What makes a map fair? And how can we be effective advocates?
Next Thursday at 7 pm, we’ll have a discussion with Jordan Berg Powers of Mass Alliance, Beth Huang of the Massachusetts Voter Table, and Roberto JimĂ©nez Rivera of the Boston Teachers Union.
Today (Tuesday, September 28) is National Voter Registration Day, and there couldn’t be a better day to reflect on how we can eliminate the unnecessary barriers people face to participating in our democracy.
This fall, the MA Legislature will likely pass an election reform package that makes permanent the popular voting reforms from the past two years like expanded early voting and vote-by-mail. However, just passing those alone is not enough. We have an opportunity to pass an ambitious bill that finally tackles some of the enduring obstacles to participation.
What does that mean?
It means passing Same Day Registration so that all eligible voters can register to vote or update their registration at the polls.
And that means passing strong language around Jail-Based Voting to end the de facto disenfranchisement that too often happens behind the wall and leaves returning citizens unsure about their rights.
We can pass a strong bill that includes such reforms, but for that to happen, your legislators need to be hearing from you.
The Drawing Democracy Coalition will be revealing its unity maps for state legislative redistricting @ 1 pm. Tune in on Facebook to learn more about our proposal for fair districts and how we can build political power for BIPOC, immigrant & low-income communities.
This Saturday, October 2, please join allies NARAL MA, ACLU of Massachusetts, and Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts for the Boston Rally to Defend Abortion.
Abortion access and reproductive freedom are under attack across the country. Texas’ SB8 has emboldened anti-abortion politicians to propose copycat laws in their states. To make matters worse, the United States Supreme Court, which allowed this blatantly unconstitutional law to stand, is set to hear the most consequential challenge to abortion rights in thirty years, on December 1.
As a national model for reproductive freedom, Massachusetts must lead the fight to defend abortion.
Boston Rally to Defend Abortion!
Saturday, October 2, 12-1:30pm
On Wednesday, October 6, the Election Modernization Coalition is hosting a Lobby Day for the VOTES Act Lobby from 12 Noon to 1:30 PM via Zoom.
As a reminder, the VOTES Act (S.459) would implement many of the reforms that Massachusetts voters have grown used to, like voting by mail and early in-person voting, along with new reforms like Same Day Registration (SDR) and risk-limiting audits.
The Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight is hearing testimony today in support of honoring Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday of October.
You can write to your legislators in support here.
Yesterday, the Massachusetts Legislature announced that the Fair Share Amendment will be on the agenda and up for a vote during their Wednesday, June 9th Constitutional Convention!
Before the Fair Share Amendment can be placed on the 2022 ballot, it must be brought up for a vote in a Massachusetts Constitutional Convention twice and receive YES votes from 50% +1 of the legislature.
In 2019, the Fair Share amendment passed its first Con-Con with a 75% YES vote. Next Wednesday’s Constitutional Convention vote is the LAST hurdle before the Fair Share Amendment is OFFICIALLY placed on the ballot.
Here’s what you can do:
1. EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATORS – It is incredibly urgent that every legislator hears from their constituents about how important it is that they vote YES to advance the Fair Share Amendment. Take 30 seconds to email your legislators now!
2. ATTEND A FAIR SHARE KICKOFF EVENT – Over the next few weeks, the Fair Share 2022 Campaign is hosting Fair Share Amendment kickoff events in every corner of the state. Find one near you and urge your friends, family, and social networks to attend these events as well. RSVP for one near you at https://raiseupma.us/events!
**************************************************
The Safe Communities Act achieved major progress last year. Building on that momentum, we’re ready to fight for a victory this session.
But we need a supermajority of House and Senate votes to overcome an expected Governor’s veto. That’s two-thirds of each chamber: 107 House votes and 27 Senate votes.
Help us engage constituents in purple districts, so that swing legislators can be confident they have public support when they take that vote.
Join us for a Zoom Phone Bank next Wednesday at 6 pm to constituents in swing districts to generate calls to their legislators! Register here—and don’t forget to invite your friends!
We provide a short training at the beginning, log-in information, and lists for phone banking. You’ll need a computer and phone to participate, and we’ll send you Zoom information on how to join when you RSVP.
**************************************************
The Redistricting Committee will be hosting separate hearings for all nine Congressional Districts. These hearings provide an opportunity for area residents to offer their opinions on local and community interests that the Committee should consider when creating the new legislative districts.
Next Tuesday, the Committee will focus on CD-08.
CD-08 includes all or part of Abington, Avon, Braintree, Bridgewater, Brockton, Canton, Cohasset, Dedham, East Bridgewater, Holbrook, Hingham, Hull, Milton, Norwood, Quincy, Stoughton, Walpole, West Bridgewater, Westwood, Weymouth, Whitman, and the neighborhoods of Beacon Hill, Dorchester, Downtown, Jamaica Plain, South Boston, Roslindale, and West Roxbury in Boston.
Sign up to testify here.
Each day, we seem to be hearing about new brazen efforts from reactionary state governments across the US to restrict the right to vote.
Strengthening our democracy requires federal action to protect voting rights, but it also requires action here at home. Indeed, while Massachusetts often leads other states across policy areas, we’ve been a laggard on voting rights.
The VOTES Act would change that The bill would make the reforms that worked for voters last fall permanent, like mail-in voting and expanded early voting. And it will do more to ensure administrative barriers to not bar Bay Staters from making their voice heard, with Same Day Registration, reforms to help eligible incarcerated people vote, and more.
The Election Modernization Coalition will be hosting a virtual lobby lunch on the VOTES Act tomorrow — Tuesday, May 11, from noon to 1:30 pm.
You can RSVP for tomorrow’s VOTES Act lobby lunch here.
Back in February, the MA House and MA Senate both passed sets of Joint Rules to govern how the Legislature operates.
But due to opposition to basic transparency measures from the MA House, the Conference Committee negotiating a final set of rules (behind closed doors) has yet to come to an agreement.
The transparency measures passed by the Senate are both essential and non-controversial:
All of these steps will help legislators do their own jobs better and strengthen the participatory nature of our democracy.
There’s so much work to do this session, and the House needs to stop delaying the passage of Joint Rules.
Training Dates: Thursday, May 13, 1 pm to 3 pm & Wednesday, May 19, 6 pm to 8 pm
Join the Drawing Democracy Coalition to learn about the impact of redistricting on your community and how you can help ensure that your community has the power to elect representatives of choice for the next decade.
These workshops will prepare community groups and leaders to engage their members in the redistricting process. Topics covered will include:
Earlier this week, we learned some great news: Massachusetts will keep all 9 of its seats in the US House of Representatives.
However, since the country as a whole grew (as did Massachusetts), the size of each Congressional district must grow from about 728,849 after 2010 to 781,497.
Some parts of the Commonwealth grew over the last decade, and some didn’t — and the lines all have to be redrawn.
Here’s where you come in.
The Legislature will be holding hearings about what those new lines should look line.
Next Tuesday (5/4), at 5 pm, the Legislature will hold a hearing about the future boundaries of MA’s 5th Congressional District. You can sign up to testify here.
On Monday, 5/24, at 5:30 pm, the Legislature will hold a hearing about the future boundaries of MA’s 2nd Congressional District. You can sign up to testify here.
Every 10 years, the MA Legislature — like state legislatures around the country — uses census data to redraw legislative districts for both state and federal officials. This includes your state representative, your state senator, and your Representative in the US Congress.
Redistricting is about more than just changing lines on a map: it’s about issues of equity and representation that are the bedrock of democracy. When done right, redistricting can increase the power of the communities that are so often disenfranchised — communities of color, low-income communities, and immigrant communities — and give them a greater voice in our political system.
But that doesn’t happen on its own.
In the coming months, we’ll be working with partners in the Drawing Democracy Coalition — community organizations, civil rights lawyers, policy advocates, data experts, and political scientists — to help make that happen.
We’ll keep you posted in the coming months about how to best take action. For now, the first step is to make sure you stay informed. Subscribe to Drawing Democracy’s weekly newsletter, follow the coalition on Twitter, and like the coalition on Facebook.
Our Framingham chapter chair Beverly Hugo recently had an op-ed printed in the MetroWest Daily News about the importance of a diverse Redistricting Committee. The lines of our Congressional and legislative districts will be redrawn later this year, with major issues of representation at stake.
Redistricting will determine our political power for the next 10 years. Make sure the ‘redistricters’ reflect us
The Joint Redistricting Committee, which is to be appointed by Senate President Karen Spilka and Speaker of the House Ronald Mariano will oversee the 2021 redistricting process.
As is customary every 10 years, the process of redistricting has begun. Although this undertaking culminates in November with the Legislature voting on newly defined congressional and state districts, the process begins now with the appointment of members to the Joint Committee on Redistricting.
Ultimately, the Joint Committee will determine whether the political power of our communities is fairly represented. It will decide which candidates run for office and who they will represent. The delineation of legislative districts will affect nearly every issue our communities care about for the next decade.
The goal of the committee is to ensure that district lines are centered on the voters, not political interests, and that the redistricting process is fair to all our communities.
Having a truly representative committee composition will also encourage public participation in the process by attending hearings and submitting proposed maps. In addition, a well composed Committee will assure participation from historically underrepresented communities.
In decades past, we have seen what can go wrong during redistricting: the legislature could break our communities apart and dilute our political power; it could combine communities with very different priorities into the same district; or it could otherwise draw district lines that do not make sense for voters. Massachusetts did, after all, invent the gerrymander.
We also know what can go well. In 2011, Massachusetts broke from its legacy of closed-door redistricting, where district lines were essentially drawn by those in leadership without any regard for input from members of the legislature and the public. Instead, it conducted a far more open and transparent process with statewide hearings and platforms that allowed Bay Staters to submit their own maps – resulting in districts that reflected common interests of voters, rather than protecting incumbent politicians.
Redistricting will shape Massachusetts’ political future — and the process begins with the Senate President, Karen Spilka, and Speaker of the House, Ron Mariano. I am confident that they will meet their responsibility by appointing legislators to the Joint Committee who will equitably consider Massachusetts’ racial and geographic diversity. We call on them to do exactly that.
Beverly Hugo is the founder of Progressive Framingham/Metrowest.