Gerrymander Gazette: Slaying the Prison Gerrymander Edition

Trainings and Events

• CHARGE Trainings
  • CHARGE partners will host a Redistricting Community College session on Thursday, August 26 (TODAY!) at 5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET for those who might have missed previous sessions. This will focus primarily on tips for testifying and providing input to those drawing redistricting maps. Register here.
  • Evaluating and Analyzing Redistricting Maps for Advocacy Campaigns: In anticipation of proposed maps coming out from official entities and interested groups, this webinar will deepen community leaders’ knowledge of how to evaluate and analyze those maps, including learning how to evaluate for Voting Rights Act compliance, looking at other redistricting criteria, learning how to use open-access redistricting software. This training will take place on August 31, 2021 at 3:00 pm ET. The goal is to equip community leaders to effectively analyze and evaluate proposed district maps in order to advocate effectively for their communities. Register here.
• All IN for Democracy, Indiana’s Coalition for Independent Redistricting, announced a first-in-the-state community mapping contest that allows Hoosiers to win cash prizes for drawing fair district maps in this year’s redistricting cycle. The winning maps will be used as the standard by which to judge the maps drawn by the Indiana General Assembly and will be a valuable tool to hold them accountable for the mapping decisions they make. All IN for Democracy will urge the legislature to pass the citizen-drawn maps instead of the partisan-designed maps produced under an opaque and conflicted process. Learn more here.
• The Hawaiʻi State Reapportionment Commission will meet on Thursday, August 26 at 11:00 a.m. (HST) via Zoom. Find the Zoom meeting link and view the upcoming meeting agenda here.
• New Mexico: Voter Expression, Not Voter Suppression: August 28, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:15 pm MT. Sponsored by the nonpartisan Southern New Mexico Suffrage Alliance: American Association of University Women (AAUW), Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office, League of Women Voters of Southern New Mexico (LWVSNM), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP- DAC), GFWC Progress Club of Las Cruces, and a few individuals. Register here.
• Common Cause Pennsylvania is hosting office hours for anyone who has already received training on Districtr and community mapping in Pennsylvania to ask questions, practice drawing community maps, and connect with other mappers and trainers. If you are interested in becoming a community mapper in Pennsylvania, email Khalif Ali at kali@commoncause.org. Office hours will take place at noon ET on Aug 27, Sep 3, and Sep 10. Register here.
• Common Cause Maryland is organizing people power across the state to ensure Marylanders play an active role in shaping their own representation. Join them on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021 at 11am ET for a Redistricting Teach-In. The teach-in will cover the latest MD redistricting updates and include trainings on how to testify, map your community, write letters to the editor, and more. Don’t miss out! RSVP to join us! 
• Florida Redistricting: Join Equal Ground for “Understanding Florida’s 2020 Redistricting Process” on August 31 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm ET. Now that the census data has been released, we will dive into what Floridians can expect in the upcoming state and congressional redistricting process.  Register here.

Resources 

• Common Cause and Prison Policy Initiative have partnered on the creation of a step-by-step guide on how to count incarcerated people at their previous address for redistricting purposes. This process avoids the skewing of population counts that occurs when counting imprisoned people where they are being imprisoned. View this resource here.

News

• 🏆Wins of the week: ending prison gerrymandering🏆
  • California will remove federal prison population from state’s redistricting data. California Citizens Redistricting Commission press release. August 20, 2021. See the letter that the California Black Census & Redistricting Hub and Prison Policy Initiative sent to the Commission advocating for an end to federal prison gerrymandering.
  • ‘We Are Standing up for Equal Treatment Before the Law.’ Pennsylvania Abolishes Prison Gerrymandering. Time Magazine. August 24, 2021.
• National:
  • Keep it In Perspective with Christian Hanley: Packing and Cracking. August 25, 2021. Hear yours truly give an update on the fight for fair maps on Hanley’s podcast.
  • Democrats face new hurdles in legal fight over redistricting. Associated Press. August 20, 2021. 
• California: 
  • Brentwood redistricting commission announces members. The Press. August 24, 2021.
  • Little Tokyo Looks to Avoid Repeating Redistricting Trap. The Rafu Shimpo. August 24, 2021.
• Colorado: Douglas County residents voice opinions on redistricting maps. Englewood Herald. August 24, 2021.
• Georgia: State leaders explain what redistricting means for Savannah. Fox 28. August 20, 2021. 
• Kansas: Population shifts in Kansas set up redistricting changes. WIBW. August 17, 2021.
• Mississippi: 
  • Citizens ask for transparent, fair redistricting process at final statewide hearing. The Northside Sun. August 24, 2021. 
  • Drawing the lines: Residents voice concerns on redistricting Mississippi after 2020 Census. Hattiesburg American. August 23, 2021.
• North Carolina: 
  • Back to the drawing board: An FAQ on redistricting in NC in 2021. Carolina Public Press. August 24, 2021.
  • PW special report: Demystifying the redistricting process. NC Policy Watch. August 20, 2021.
• Ohio: 
  • Ohio Redistricting Commission launches public input website. The Highland County Press. August 22, 2021.
  • Public hearings set on redistricting. Review Times. August 17, 2021. 
• Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania House State Government Committee Holding Redistricting Hearing. CBS Pittsburgh. August 25, 2021.
• Texas: 
  • Texas Democrats Return Home To A New Battle: Redistricting. NPR. August 21, 2021.
  • Experts explain how redistricting can affect diverse Texas communities. KTSM. August 17, 2021l.
• Utah: Utah’s Redistricting Process Kicks Off. KPCW. August 20, 2021.
• Virginia: Pope & Schapiro: Census Data And Redistricting. WVTF. August 20, 2021.
• Wisconsin: Outagamie County residents can give input on what their communities look like for redistricting. The Post Crescent. August 19, 2021.
• Wyoming: Legislators begin redistricting process. The Sheridan Press. August 21, 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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