Gerrymander Gazette: Circular Logic Edition

Trainings and Events

• The Redistricting Data Hub is excited to announce a new training series on racially polarized voting! On Tuesday, November 16 from 1:00-2:00 pm EST, we will host the first of three trainings. We have partnered with Fred McBride of the Lawyers Committee to offer this first training, which focuses on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and other legally significant cases that are important for understanding the motivation and standards for RPV analyses. Fred McBride is the Redistricting and Voting Rights Policy Specialist at the Lawyers Committee and has been active in voting rights for nearly 20 years. He is an expert in drawing and evaluating redistricting plans and performing racially polarized voting analysis. This first training is great for folks who may not know much about the Voting Rights Act or racially polarized voting. It’s also an opportunity to learn directly from an expert active in the field. Register for the first training here. More details regarding the second and third trainings – scheduled for November 30 and December 7 at 1:00 pm EST, respectively – will be forthcoming. Or sign up for the RDH newsletter to be notified!

Resources and Announcements

• New York Unity Coalition Announces NYS Assembly & Senate Unity Maps! Learn more here.
• The OurMapsMN campaign’s cohorts, representing various Indigenous and people of color in Minnesota, hosted community of interest mapping sessions across the state. Cohorts include – African Career, Education and Resources (ACER), Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP), ANIKA Foundation, Beautywell Project, CAPI, Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Accion Latina (COPAL), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIRMN), Deaf Equity, Hispanic Advocacy & Community Empowerment through Research (HACER), Minnesota Immigrant Movement (MIM), Native American Community Development Institute, Pillsbury United Communities (PUC), and Voices for Racial Justice. Check out their maps here.

News

• ♻Circular Logic Award♻: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says he will not veto gerrymandered maps the Utah State Legislature plans to pass after the legislature rejected maps proposed by the state’s citizen commission. In response to the legislature drawing maps making it harder for Utahns to elect people who have the same interests that they have, Cox suggested that Utahns elect “people that have the same interests that you do in changing the maps the next time around.”  
• National: 
  • Redistricting Maps Explained. New York Times. November 7, 2021. 
  • They had a plan to unrig US elections. Things are not going as expected. The Guardian. November 5, 2021. 
• California: Some Early CA Redistricting Map Sketches Raise Concerns Little Saigon Could Be Split Up. Voice of OC. November 8, 2021.
• Georgia: New Georgia Senate map clears redistricting committee. Albany Herald. November 7, 2021.
• Iowa: Iowa governor signs state’s redistricting plan into law. Associated Press. November 5, 2021.
• Michigan: How Michigan Republicans are trying to sway state’s independent redistricting process. NBC News. November 4, 2021.
• North Carolina
  • North Carolina sued over newly passed maps favoring GOP. Associated Press. November 5, 2021.
  • Members of the public say their testimony was distorted in Senate redistricting process. NC Policy Watch. November 4, 2021.
• Ohio
  • 3 Ohio officials detail failed map negotiations to court. Associated Press. November 5, 2021
  • Ohio Republicans swing for fences in redistricting proposals. The Hill. November 5, 2021.
• South Carolina: SC House to release its redistricting maps; Senate’s are out. Associated Press. November 7, 2021.
• Utah: Five things you need to know about the Utah Legislature’s redistricting maps. Salt Lake Tribune. November 8, 2021.
• Virginia
  • Editorial: In Virginia, the GOP games the redistricting system. Washington Post. November 9, 2021.
  • Advocacy groups speak out as redistricting heads to Virginia Supreme Court. WDBJ. November 5, 2021.
• Wisconsin: Wisconsin Senate approves GOP-backed redistricting plan. Wisconsin Public Radio. November 8, 2021.

This newsletter has been produced by Common Cause and compiled by Dan Vicuna. Subscribe to the Gerrymander Gazette here. For more information or to pass along news, contact Dan Vicuna.

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