Redistricting is about power – and who holds it.

Unfortunately, both the ‘Turnpike’ and ‘Parkway’ maps proposed by the Apportionment Commission ultimately fail to reflect New Jersey's growing diverse population and to address racial inequity. Both maps appear to focus on political horse-trading with the aim of solidifying power for political parties and elected officials, when it should be about empowering us – the people – to choose leaders who represent our unique interests.

To influence the creation of a map that prioritizes fair representation for people of color, the Fair Districts Coalition created the Fair Districts Unity Map. Our map, which we presented to the commission on February 2, does a better job of representing communities of interest and building a path toward achieving racial equity than either of the maps currently proposed, which both overrepresent New Jersey’s white population.

The Commission made historic progress in transparency and public participation by releasing proposed maps for the first time – now it must follow through.

The final map must be certified by March 1, and we need your help to amplify this important message. Please sign on below to join us in asking the Apportionment Commission to center racial equity and keep communities of interest together in the final map—both priorities that were highlighted by New Jersey residents over and over again in public hearings.

The fight for fair representation isn’t over yet. Help us spread the word.

Fair Districts NJ's Unity Map can be found at fairdistrictsnj.org/state-legislative-unity-map. You can also compare all three maps at newjersey.redistrictingandyou.org/

The organizations supporting Fair Districts NJ's Unity Map include Fair Share Housing Center; Latino Action Network; Latino Coalition of New Jersey; League of Women Voters of New Jersey; Latinas United for Political Empowerment (L.U.P.E.) Fund; NAACP State Conference; the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice; New Jersey Institute for Social Justice; New Jersey League of Conservation Voters; New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center; New Jersey Working Families; the Palestinian American Community Center; Salvation and Social Justice and Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

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Dear Apportionment Commission Members,

On February 7, after many calls for transparency into New Jersey’s map-making process, you responded by releasing your maps to allow for public comment. While we are pleased that you heard our calls, Fair Districts NJ has many concerns with both the “Turnpike” and “Parkway” maps as both fail to reflect the rapid population growth driven solely by increases in the numbers of people of color and to address larger concerns of racial inequity.

According to the latest Census, people of color are now over 48% of the state’s population - and account for all the population growth in New Jersey in the last decade. However, both proposed maps only draw 17 majority people of color districts, significantly less than their population would suggest, and fail to reflect the growth of Asian, Latino and Black communities and to account for the growing Middle Eastern and North African populations.

Although Latinos make up over 20% of the state’s population, The “Turnpike” and “Parkway” maps only propose one majority voting age population Latino district, respectively. Both maps also fail to reflect the growth in the Black population, only drawing one majority Black district each. Both maps drastically underrepresent the Asian community, even though they are the fastest-growing demographic in the state, now making up one in ten New Jerseyans, and have the worst population-to-representation disparities in the legislature. The “Turnpike” map does not include a single Asian plurality district, while the “Parkway” map only includes one, and does so at the expense of dividing communities of interest in Central Jersey. The Asian American community grew by 44% over the past decade and saw almost 60% growth in parts of Central and Northern New Jersey. Similarly, Middle Eastern and North African communities in Northern New Jersey are split amongst multiple districts.

In sum, these maps overrepresent New Jersey’s white population at the expense of communities of color.

As we near the March 1 deadline to certify a map, the undersigned urge you to consider the comments and feedback from communities of interest in shaping a finalized legislative map. The redistricting process should not be a tool to build partisan power, but rather an instrument to build the collective voice of the communities that overwhelmingly represent New Jersey’s changing population.

We look forward to a final legislative map that reflects who we are as New Jerseyans and that allows us all a full voice in our democracy.

Thank you for your consideration.