Good evening.

My name is Matt Dragon, I live in West Orange, in Essex County and I’m a co-chair of the Essex County Chapter of Our Revolution.

Thank you to the commissioners and staff for serving on this commission and welcome to Commissioner Matos. Chairman Jones, thank you for taking action today, and your statement. I appreciate the focus on diversity as you’ll see reflected in my comments.

The Voting Rights Act spells out that states cannot provide protected groups “less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice.” When we look at a state as diverse as New Jersey, we need to consider how that diversity reflects through our Legislative Districts.

According to the Census, NJ is 21% Hispanic or Latino, 15% Black, and 10% Asian, and we know these groups are more likely to be undercounted. While it’s not possible to have that map perfectly into Legislative districts, any map you consider adopting should be approaching 50% majority-minority districts.

It is probably hard for the white members of the commission and our predominantly white Legislators to fully grasp what these communities mean when they say: “Representation matters.” But as a white, male voter let me put it this way. My vote has been inflated at the expense of others, ever since it was first legally defined, Its value was inflated by appropriating the power of women’s votes and stealing the power of Black and brown votes. It is on that historic foundation of systemic racism, the systemic racism that endures through to today in our districts, that continues to over value my vote.

So your role on this commission is to devalue my vote and the votes of people that look like me. That’s not to say you should undervalue them. This isn’t about penalizing white voters, but rather to acknowledge the history, allow yourselves to see how it has affected NJ and our current map, and to re-balance the power to make sure it’s fair and equitable.

You must allow voters to reclaim their power in choosing representatives and participating in the process and restoring power to those we have historically marginalized, as a country and a state. The apportionment process should be about ensuring fair and equitable representation for all NJ residents. Not just those of us that have traditionally seen ourselves represented in the State House.

Thank you.