It’s true! I really do rig your elections. No kidding around. But it’s not my fault! Political parties use me like a puppet. My brilliant system allows them to dupe you – the voters – into believing elections are fair, that your vote always counts. They like it that way and so do I – but some, like these people at Flushgerrymander.com – want to expose my scam and Flush me from the scene. It ain’t gonna happen – but you can try. Stop me if you can! Ha ha ha!
Isn’t he just awful! After more than 200 years of his shenanigans, it’s time to Flush Gerry Mander!
How can we do that?
It’s simple, really. By 2020, we’ll amend the North Carolina Constitution to replace Gerry Mander with a system that henceforth draws fair and non-partisan voting maps! You’re wondering if We the People can actually do that, aren’t you? Actually, the 170 House and Senate members of the North Carolina General Assembly must do it.
So we should just ask them, right?
Well, that’s the dicey part. Remember, it is they who conspire and connive with Gerry Mander to rig our elections. So they are reluctant to make such a change. It’s us versus them! We the People have to badger, bug, annoy, pester, hound, heckle EVERY elected representative and tell them we want Gerry Mander flushed! Before 2020! And if they want to keep him in power, we need to Flush them too!!!!
We the People participate in our political system by voting for individuals we expect will represent us – to design how our communities look and function with regard to safety, jobs, air quality, housing, and education.
When political parties rig elections for their own power and gain, the result is an unfair and unrepresentative democracy. Elections are non-competitive. Quality candidates are discouraged from running. Voters have fewer choices.
At a time of exhausting political polarization, we need honest, broad-minded representatives who focus on things that matter, not myopic individuals focused on the next hot “wedge issue.” But today our role as voters is being obliterated by extraordinary amounts of money, unchecked corporate power, lobbyists, and – yes – political parties.
In 2016 North Carolina legislative elections – under unfair gerrymandered maps – more than 90 percent of our state legislators either ran unopposed or won by double-digit margins. Not a single one of 13 U.S. Congressional race was competitive. That is NOT democracy!
December 5, 2019
You might think GerryMander would take a break from rigging our elections during the holidays. But not so. He and our heroine Maeve are facing off once again. Take a look: There it is. No shame on GerryMander’s part – nor by political parties while they continue to steal the value of our votes. So […]
October 21, 2019
"#Gerrymandering is blocking action on climate change, as well as a whole bunch of other issues, things that matter," said Harry Taylor. "Gerrymandering has got to go!" Join the fight for #fairMaps: https://t.co/JsLlfAo1Jx #EndGerrymandering #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/hsqH2yGbAO — Gerry Mander (@flushgerry) October 7, 2019 “GerryMander’s got to go! GerryMander’s got to go!” So went the raucous […]
September 10, 2019
Last month, we hoped that the NC court system might deliver some relief for our democracy from the scourge of gerrymandering. On Tuesday, September 3, a three-judge North Carolina panel ruled that state House and Senate district maps are unlawful under the state constitution. Those maps, drawn in 2017, replaced 2011 maps which were also […]
August 13, 2019
Four more mass shootings over the past week: El Paso, Dayton, Chicago, and Gilroy, California. At least 34 dead and 50 injured. Incomprehensible and heartbreaking! It doesn’t stop! And those in position to do something about it, won’t! Most North Carolinians – and most Americans – find this tsunami of murder repugnant and senseless. Most […]
July 9, 2019
In March we closely watched the U.S. Supreme Court arguments in the Common Cause/League of Women Voters v. Rucho case. On June 27, the Court announced their decision. If you care about democracy, value your vote, believe the U.S. is a land of, for, and by the people, the justices let us down! Hard! See […]
May 21, 2019
Tuesday, May 7, saw Common Cause North Carolina hosting the People’s Lobby Day to END GERRYMANDERING. Lots of patter over fair maps in the public realm, but the North Carolina legislative leadership hasn’t even bothered to ignite the stove. No surprise there. The same trend repeats across many other states (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, et. al.) […]
April 2, 2019
The March 27 Charlotte Observer article – “Supreme Court appears split in NC gerrymandering case” – reported on two partisan gerrymander cases, one from North Carolina and another from Maryland, argued before the justices on Tuesday. … and you won’t be surprised to know that GerryMander isn’t pleased. The discussion was about the status of his job, so […]
January 22, 2019
On January 4, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear two cases on gerrymandering – Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Benisek – that potentially could set a national precedent on how to draw fair maps for congressional candidates, and do it in time for the redistricting after completion of the 2020 census. Both cases […]
October 18, 2018
Can’t you just feel Maeve’s frustration? As a voter, she wants to make informed choices about candidates, and believes she’s entitled to watch them faceoff against each other. But far too often – especially in gerrymandered districts – incumbent candidates don’t bother to show up. Since their district is rigged and they are practically guaranteed […]
August 7, 2018
So…young Maeve and that rascal Gerry Mander are at it again…debating the rigging of elections by drawing maps that protect political power and leave democracy in tatters. As usual, headstrong Gerry believes he’s won. But after a well-deserved thwack on the head, he’s again “flushed” out of the scene. Sadly, he’ll be back…unless We the […]
June 28, 2018
Well, now. It’s been quite a month at the U.S. Supreme Court and the the North Carolina General Assembly. For the most part, a steady stream of dreadful court decisions and non-decisions. That prior to Justice Kennedy’s sudden retirement announcement. In Raleigh, a wealth of ill-intentioned legislation, together with fall ballot measures designed to suppress […]
June 14, 2018
Thanks to everyone who joined us Wednesday in Charlotte for the launch event of our Flush GerryMander campaign, featuring a live performance by Gerry Mander himself! Get involved in the fight for fair voting maps or make a donation to support our work. There’s much more to come from the Flush GerryMander campaign!
June 5, 2018
We’re excited to invite you to the official launch event of our Flush Gerry Mander project! Please join us on Wednesday, June 13 at 10:00 a.m. in Charlotte at Morrison Regional Library (7015 Morrison Blvd.) and meet Gerry Mander in person. The event will include a press conference and performance with Gerry Mander himself. We’ll also […]
May 3, 2018
Since the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February, there has been an upwelling of activity and conversation coming directly from students. Much ado has been made of walkouts, the March For Our Lives, and various memorial events.
January 29, 2018
Between January 10 and January 23, the Charlotte Observer published eight separate articles – two being editorials – about gerrymandering in North Carolina, including the anticipated rigging of judicial districts. This unrelenting news and commentary concerns unconstitutional election districts created by the NC General Assembly. North Carolina isn’t alone in recent news. Pennsylvania has been […]
January 23, 2018
Lots of buzz last week regarding gerrymandering. A panel of federal judges struck down North Carolina’s U.S. Congressional election districts maps as unconstitutional. (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article193814154.html) This was another in a long string of lawsuits challenging unfair election maps. With such maps in hand, political parties “pick their voters” in lieu of We the People picking our […]
October 26, 2017
Did you vote in the most recent primary election? No? Sadly, you’re not in the minority. Here is something to think about… The general tenor of our society today of rampant polarization, impatience, meanness, and selfishness reflects the character of far too many individuals in political power. Your absence abets that condition every time you stay […]
October 24, 2017
Did you realize that Gerry is rigging elections for political candidates? We are not choosing them, they are forcing us to choose what they want. Does that sound like Democracy to you? It doesn’t to us & it is time we Flush GerryMandering!
September 29, 2017
Gerrymander. Curious word, isn’t it? Could mean about anything, I suppose. But if you care about our precious democracy you should know that it’s cheating – by political parties. Rigging elections by drawing election district maps so those same parties can pick their voters. In so doing, they thwart competition by making it nearly impossible […]
July 28, 2017
We have created a video series to explain why we need to Flush GerryMander Now! Knowledge is power & the power to make a change in our community. Please take a few minutes to understand who we are dealing with.
June 12, 2017
It was in 7th grade – a class called Social Studies – when I was first introduced to ‘gerrymandering’. A whimsical, silly word perhaps, but a truly evil practice.