Gerrymander Gazette: Thursday’s the Day(!) Edition

08.10.2021

The U.S. Census Bureau will release redistricting data to the states this Thursday. States will need between a few days and a couple of weeks to process these data in their “legacy” format. However, we can officially say that redistricting season has begun. See how activists across the country are getting ready.

Trainings and Events

  • CHARGE partners will host two Redistricting Community College sessions for those who might have missed previous sessions. These will focus primarily on tips for testifying and providing input to those drawing redistricting maps. Register for our training on August 19 at 2:00 pm PT/5:00 pm ET or August 26 at 5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET.
  • The New Mexico Citizen Redistricting Committee invites you to participate in the redistricting process. They will hold three more meetings between August 11 and August 14 that are open to the public. Find meeting dates, times, and details here. 
  • The League of Women Voters and Campaign Legal Center will host a #FairMapsForAll Twitterstorm on Aug. 12. Learn more here.
  • Join Colorado Common Cause as we walk you through the ins and outs of community redistricting, how to view and evaluate the preliminary maps, and how to provide your feedback to the commissions. These sessions will be held weekly on Mondays at 7:00 pm MT and Thursdays at noon MT through the end of August. Find the hearing closest to you on the Commission Hearing Schedule and choose the Zoom session that works best for you! RSVP to receive the call-in details. Sessions will be held on August 12 at noon MT, August 16 at 7:00 pm MT, August 19 at noon MT, and August 23 at 7:00 pm MT.
  • Hoosier fair maps activists turned out en masse last week for hearings held by the House and Senate Elections Committees to take public testimony on redistricting.  Although the hearings were held at inconvenient times and out of the way locations, overflow crowds demanded an end to gerrymandering and that the legislature follow the recommendations of the parallel redistricting commission organized by Common Cause Indiana and the All IN for Democracy coalition. The final public hearing will be held in Indianapolis on Wednesday, 8/13 at 1:00 p.m. ET. The All IN for Democracy coalition will rally outside the State House before the hearing begins. Learn more here. 
  • Join Common Cause North Carolina for an engaging and empowering redistricting workshop for the Goldsboro community on August 14 at 11:00 am ET! New congressional and state legislative voting districts will be drawn in NC this year. Learn here what you can do to push back against gerrymandering and speak out for fair maps!
  • In 2011, Wisconsin state legislative and congressional districts constituted one of the most partisan gerrymanders of any state in the nation. Can we adopt a redistricting process that is non-partisan, fair, and puts voters before politicians? And what does the redistricting process, now underway, look like? Common Cause Wisconsin invites you to a statewide webinar on August 17, 2021 at 6:00 pm CT that features leading state legislative reform leaders, policy and legal experts, and you — for a lively 90 minutes of interesting discussion and your questions. Free and open to the public. Register here.
  • The League of Women Voters of San Francisco’s Local Redistricting: Building Communities of Interest event on Thursday, August 19, 6:00 pm PT is about what a community of interest is and how you and your neighbors can define yours to get fair representation in government during the city’s upcoming redistricting process. It features speaker Jonathan Mehta Stein of California Common Cause, and is supported by SF Rising and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus. Register here. 
  • Join Common Cause North Carolina for an engaging, empowering and interactive workshop for the Plymouth community on August 24 at 6:00 p.m. ET. New congressional and state legislative voting districts will be drawn in NC this year. Learn what you can do to push back against gerrymandering and speak out for fair maps! You can attend virtually via Zoom or in person. To attend via Zoom, please register here. For those who wish to attend in person, the workshop will be held at New Chapel Missionary Baptist Church (207 E. 3rd St. Plymouth, NC 27962). Please note: all in-person attendees will be required to wear a mask and will be socially distanced. The church will also conduct temperature checks.
  • Join the League of Women Voters of Oregon and Common Cause for “Oregon Redistricting: Are you Ready?” Learn everything under the sun about how redistricting will work this cycle in Oregon during a training on August 25 at 5:30 pm PT. Learn more and 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 13, Aug 20, Aug 27, Sep 3, and Sep 10. Register here.
  • Mapping Mondays and Testimony Thursdays with Fair Count in Georgia! Come join us on Mondays and Thursdays at 7pm ET to learn about redistricting and how to make sure your voice is heard in the redistricting process! On Mondays we will focus on drawing community maps and on Thursdays we will help you build out testimony for redistricting public hearings. Register for Mapping Mondays here and Testimony Thursdays here.

Resources and Announcements

  • Common Cause has updated its 50-state guides to redistricting deadlines, rules, and public map submission portals to reflect litigation that has recently concluded and legislation passed in response to the Census Bureau timeline for releasing redistricting data. See the guides here and a chart showing all state redistricting and election deadlines at the bottom of the page here.
  • The Princeton Gerrymandering Project (PGP) is pleased to announce the winners of its Great American Map-Off, a contest challenging the public to draw redistricting plans in anticipation of the 2021 redistricting cycle. The Great American Map-Off utilized free online mapping tools allowing members of the public to draw their own redistricting plans to be judged in the contest’s four unique categories: communities of interest, stealth gerrymander, competitiveness, and partisan fairness. Participants were encouraged to enter any or all categories, which are fully detailed within the contest rules on PGP’s website. The site also includes links for mapping tools and resources, including Representable, Dave’s Redistricting App, and All About Redistricting. See contest winners here.
  • San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors and Mayor have selected their 2021–2022 Redistricting Task Force members. After considering five applicants (with three others withdrawn), the Board of Supervisors appointed three people to the Task Force. Mayor London Breed also selected her three appointees. Three members were previously appointed by the Elections Commission. The Redistricting Task Force is expected to start meeting in mid-August. Meet the members of San Francisco’s Redistricting Task Force.

News

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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See More: Gerrymandering/RedistrictingReflective DemocracyVoting Rights