For Immediate Release
May 6, 2024
Ohio Organizing Collaborative Recognized with Brennan Legacy Award for Leadership in Redistricting Work
COLUMBUS – On May 1, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law recognized Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) for their work in the fight for fair maps in Ohio. They acknowledged O’Connor’s and The Collaborative’s leadership in educating Ohioans and engaging policymakers about fair and equitable maps.
“It is meaningful to be honored among leaders such as the honorable Chief Justice O’Connor and long-time voting rights advocate Samuel Gresham Jr., for our collective work in the fight to end partisan gerrymandering,” said Molly Shack, executive director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. “Gresham, my colleague Jeniece Brock, my former co-director Prentiss Haney, and our entire team at the OOC wake up each day with the singular goal of furthering democracy. We are grateful for this important recognition.”
“The Ohio Organizing Collaborative received a Brennan Legacy Award for being the galvanizing force behind a three-year lawsuit seeking fair maps,” writes the Brennan Center in an organizational release. “The Collaborative’s staff and volunteers, represented by the Brennan Center in the litigation, not only served as plaintiffs in a rollercoaster of a lawsuit, but also kept communities across Ohio engaged and informed about the battle and why gerrymandering matters.”
“The Ohio Organizing Collaborative’s commitment to fair maps is formidable,” said Yurij Rudensky, senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program. “Through lived experience, the staff and volunteers give voice to the damage the current system has done in the lives of millions of Ohioans, especially for communities of color. Despite setbacks in the courts, despite opposition from politicians and lobbyists, the Collaborative remains resolute: the people of Ohio deserve maps drawn in the public interest, not for political gain.”
“We are excited to continue our efforts to advance democracy by registering young people to vote, challenging voter purges and working to ensure that voters can draw legislative maps, not politicians,” Shack said.
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