Our Policy & Democracy Organizer’s reflections at the end of the 2024 legislative session
Nicole Donoso (she/her) is the Policy & Democracy Organizer at Voices for Racial Justice
My work at Voices for Racial Justice focuses on civic engagement and building a truly accessible democracy. As the 2024 legislative session comes to a close, I’m left with mixed feelings. I know that making space to celebrate our hard work and wins is an essential practice in sustaining our movements for racial justice. But at the same time, I’m deeply disappointed by our legislators’ failure to act more boldly for a racially equitable democracy where every community member is supported to participate in the decisions that impact our daily lives.
As a community organizer, I knew the excuses elected officials would make about why they couldn’t do more for communities of color this legislative session; it’s an election year, and they didn’t want to be associated with a “progressive” agenda at the risk of losing moderate voters. It’s a budget bonding year, so there was less funding available for community investment.
And as a community organizer, I also know that there’s no excuse for failing to pass policies that would deeply, positively transform and invest in our communities. I know that when an elected official has campaigned on a promise of serving their community, they owe it to the people who trusted them with their votes to follow through.
Here are the new laws that we’re celebrating - and the policies that we’ll continue to advocate for until their passage next legislative session:
Ending Prison Gerrymandering
Until this year, our incarcerated brothers and sisters were counted as residents of the jails and prisons where they’re being held - instead of in the communities they and their families call home. Now, Minnesota will count incarcerated folks at their last known address. This change allows for more accurate census counts, fairer districts, and better representation. This matters because fair and accurate census counts determine funding for programs like roads and infrastructure, public housing, schools, nutrition programs, and more.
Expanding polling places to colleges and universities
Starting in 2024, colleges and universities will be supported in creating temporary polling places for students. Our current electoral system is one of the most inaccessible avenues to civic engagement. Many community members, including young people and some of our immigrant neighbors, are not granted the right to vote. Even eligible voters often find the process intimidating and inaccessible due to language barriers and bureaucratic requirements. This bill is one step towards a more equitable and inclusive Minnesota
Establishing a Minnesota Voting Rights Act
“The MNVRA provides Minnesotans — particularly Black, Indigenous and other Minnesotans of color — with necessary protections against racial discrimination in voting. This common-sense, pro-voter legislation solidifies and expands upon the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA), helping ensure that Minnesotans of color can continue to make their voices heard at the ballot box and elect representatives of their choice … those provisions mark major steps toward a more equitable Minnesota government where every voice is heard and every vote counts equally.”
A missed opportunity to democratize redistricting
As we celebrate these wins, we also know that we lost a huge opportunity for fair representation through Minnesota’s redistricting process. The With Us, For Us redistricting amendment was an opportunity to bring the voices and ideas of our communities directly into the redistricting process, and to empower us to advocate for ourselves. Our friends at Common Cause Minnesota shared that this amendment “would create an independent citizen redistricting commission that would draw state legislative and congressional district maps with a focus on community interests, rather than partisan interest … it would end the conflict of interest in which legislators draw their own districts and empower citizens to draw maps.”
Redistricting has been used to create maps that exclude our communities from building electoral and political power for many years. Having our communities be part of how district maps are drawn is one of the ways that we can hold our government accountable for erasing us - by showing them that we exist, and demanding the resources and fair representation we deserve.
We will continue to fight for redistricting processes that include and serve all Minnesotans.
Our elected officials failed to disrupt racial disparities
We fight for an accessible democracy because our communities deserve to have a say in the policies and politicians that govern our daily lives. But, we also know that inequity is built into our systems, and that we need intentional interventions to disrupt them. That’s why I went to Minnesota’s State Capitol this legislative session and testified in favor of HF2821 - a bill that would disrupt racial disparities in Minnesota in the form of Racial Equity Impact Notes.
These notes would provide an assessment of the racial economic disparities that may be created or exacerbated by legislation, and ensure that communities that have been marginalized and overlooked are fully considered in the implementation of policies that impact our daily lives. I brought my support for this bill directly to our lawmakers because Minnesota infamously leads the country in racial disparities, and I know that it’s the responsibility of those same lawmakers to redress those disparities. As I shared with our lawmakers, I believe that policy can - and should - be used as a transformational tool to invest in our communities, protect our rights, and bring our voices and expertise into the halls of power. But too often, even well-intended policies result in racial disparities, because potential impacts were not sufficiently considered in a bill’s passage or implementation.
We’re deeply disappointed that our elected officials didn’t act to make an intentional intervention into law this session. We are committed to supporting this legislation again at next year’s legislative session, to advancing racial equity and justice in Minnesota, and to empowering our communities to live with dignity and joy.
Civic engagement and democracy don’t end with election seasons or legislative sessions - they are a way of being in relationship with each other, caring for each other, and making sure that we’re all equipped to show up, together, to continue to build the abundant and just world that we dream of.
Reflect:
When you were growing up, what were you told or taught about your ability to change your conditions or your community?
When is a time that you experienced the impacts of a decision that somebody else made on your behalf, or on behalf of your community?
What do you imagine in a world where people are trusted to know what they need to live with dignity and joy, and where their lived experiences and expertise inform decision making? What do you see, hear, and smell? How do you feel?