OUR PURPOSE

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Dear Maryland State Senate President Bill Ferguson,

We are very concerned about what Republican-led mid-decade gerrymandering across the United States will mean for OUR state, Maryland.

If we don’t make a stand now, there’s no telling how far these GOP lawmakers and this administration will go to shield their unpopular policies from being voted down at the ballot box. 

But you have unilaterally BLOCKED efforts to fight for Marylanders & all Americans by redistricting Maryland's Congressional map in the face of unprecedented efforts by the U.S. President to directly interfere and push GOP lead states to rigg election maps in an effort to give Congressional Republicans an enormous advantage in the 2026 Midterms allowing them to further erode our freedoms and the institutions that have supported democracy for nearly 250 years.

Furthermore, you are blocking efforts to protect Marylanders WITHOUT meaningful direct consultation with your constituents. 

We cannot undo extreme gerrymandering and other voter suppression tactics coordinated by the President of the United States across multiple states by hoping for the enormous  voter turnout at levels unseen in history that would be required to overcome all the anti-democratic obstacles purposely set in place.

This may not be the tool to fight back we would have chosen, but in the real world it’s the tool we HAVE.  

If we don’t use it, Maryland won’t have proper representation in Congress, and the U.S. House won’t reflect the will of the voters in this state and countless others across the country. 

And here in Maryland, we need fair representation in the U.S. House of Representatives for working families and purposely marginalized communities who are bearing the brunt of Republicans’ anti-affordability policies. 

For example, we could see the continued indiscriminate slash and burn of government jobs that has ALREADY disproportionately hurt our communities - economic damage that will take who knows how many years to reverse.

Without action, the results will be MORE policies that are hurting our economy, violating civil rights and attacking the very foundations of our democracy - poetically in our 250th year.

Senate President Ferguson, we your constituents DEMAND that demonstrate that you understand the ENORMITY of the dangers to us and our freedoms by FIGHTING for your voters through redistricting Maryland to defend democracy.  

At MINIMUM we expect a publicly announced open TOWN HALL before the start of the next legislative session or any called special sessions to discuss this with your constituents in an open, public, in person forum

Redistricting might be difficult, it might be fought it in the courts, some elected officials might be asked to make political sacrifices for their people. And we expect you to do it not in spite of all this but BECAUSE you have been elected to fight for us - full stop.

If you ignore these petitions and continue to stand in the way of the fight for democracy, the voters in your Baltimore district can help you find your way out of the way in 2026.

Sincerely, 

The Undersigned