College Campuses and Redistricting
July 14, 2021
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Founded in 2016, the SLSV Coalition is a diverse group of nearly 400 local, state, national, and student nonpartisan organizations working with 1,800 campuses.
We’re the national hub and the largest nonpartisan network in the United States dedicated to increasing student voter participation and civic engagement. Through data-driven approaches and by working with organizations, campuses, and individuals, we’re designing and advancing a shared agenda around political learning and college student voting.
About the
Students Learn Students Vote Coalition
Objectives for Today
Agenda
Redistricting 101
Gideon Epstein
Organizer, Voting Rights Project
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
Overview
● Introduction
● Redistricting Basics
● Census Overview
● District Mapping
● Ways to Get Involved
● Closing
Who We Are
Redistricting Basics
Definitions
● Reapportionment is the process of assigning seats in a legislative body among pre-existing political subdivisions such as states or counties. In the past, some states assigned districts on the basis of county boundaries and therefore continue to call their redistricting process by the name of apportionment.
● Redistricting is the redrawing and revision of district boundaries (Congress, state legislatures, county commissions, city councils, school boards).
● Gerrymandering refers to a plan or a district intentionally drawn to advantage one group or party over another, sometimes identified by bizarre shapes.
Redistricting at the local, state, and federal level
● As of 2017, there were 90,126 federal, state, and local governments in the U.S.
● Most politically active people know that redistricting occurs in the House of Representatives, but it also occurs at the local and state level.
● School boards get redistricted
Census 101
● What is the Census?: The census population count determines how many representatives each state will have in Congress for the next 10 years and how much federal funding communities will receive for roads, schools, housing and social programs.
● Why is it important?: The census allocates more than $7 trillion dollars to federal, state, and local governments over the next 10 years
● Is my information protected? : Yes. The Census Bureau works independently and cannot report or share information with government agencies, to include law enforcement and immigration services.
Who Draws the Lines?
Politician Redistricting Commission
●State legislative bodies or other state officials (Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, etc.) draw maps.
●State legislative commissions often do not include all legislators.
●Examples: Missouri, Arkansas, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania
Non-Politician Redistricting Commission
●A body, other than the usual state legislative bodies, established to draw electoral district boundaries.
●Often known as independent or citizens’ redistricting commissions
●Examples: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Montana
How are Lines Drawn?
EQUAL POPULATION
A constitutional standard established by the U.S. Supreme Court that means all districts for representational bodies should be approximately equal in population. The degree of equality may vary in congressional plans vs legislative/local plans.
COMPACTNESS
Having the minimum distance between all the parts of a constituency (a circle, square or a hexagon are examples of very compact district). Various methods have been developed to measure compactness.
CONTIGUITY
All parts of a district being connected geographically at some point with the rest of the district. Limits on contiguity by point or by water vary by state.
How are Lines Drawn?
VOTING RIGHTS ACT
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. Section 2 prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in one of the language minority groups.
COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST
Communities that have a shared interest or passion, and may benefit from cohesive representation in the legislature. Examples include trade areas, communication and transportation networks, media markets, Indian reservations, urban and rural interests, social, cultural and economic interests, or occupations and lifestyles.
COUNTIES/POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS (PRESERVATION)
Refers to keeping county, city, town
Boundaries intact where possible.
STATE GUIDELINES
Many states have additional redistricting criteria defined in state constitution or adopted redistricting guidelines.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Race can be considered during redistricting , BUT race must not predominate the redistricting process
RESOURCES
Why Redistricting Matters
North Carolina A&T University
●The historically Black North Carolina A&T University, the nation’s largest HBCU, saw its campus divided into two districts, splitting the community and unfairly benefiting one party over the other.
●Demonstrates minority vote dilution and violation of the VRA.
●Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) protects racial and language minorities from discrimination by a state, or other political subdivision, in voting practices, including through redistricting.
●Federal judges ruled the last two N.C. redistricting maps (2011 and one redrawn too close to the 2018 election to be used) as partisan gerrymandering to favor Republicans. A new map was approved for use in 2019. It places the NC A&T campus in one district.
●This redistricting cycle will be the first in years without section 5 of the VRA (federal preclearance).
How Can You Participate?
Public Education: Host or lead a training on redistricting for your community and provide updates from local town hall meetings.
Develop a plan.
Groups & college students can join local organizations, work with organizations to submit their own redistricting plans, and advocate for fair districts by participating in redistricting hearings.
Apportionment data: April 26, 2021
Redistricting data: September 30, 2021
3-Day Mapping & Communities Workshop
Thank you!
Contact Information:
Gideon Epstein
Organizer, Voting Rights Project
gepstein@lawyerscommittee.org
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Use of this electronic and any other organization material designates the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office. Please request permission to use material.
Q+A
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
Communities of Interest Mapping
Key Opportunities for Participation
Initial Survey of �Communities & �Planning Organizing
Community of Interest
Mapping
District Map Drawing
Evaluating Maps
Initial Survey of Communities & Planning Organizing
Coalition Building
Coalition Building: Considerations
Defining Communities of Interest
A community of interest is a contiguous population which shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation.
FACTORS IMPACTING COI DATA
Defining COI: Data and Tools
Redistricting Data Hub Data Resources
COI Mapping Tools
Drawing Communities of Interest
Drawing your Community of Interest can be done in three steps:
Get started drawing your Community of Interest with State Voices today: https://www.representable.org/map/p/state-voices/
Download the Representable Resource Kit
Defining your community using RDH
The Redistricting Data Hub is a website built by the progressive community for the progressive community to make sure our communities are represented. ��Check out this resource at: redistrictingdatahub.org
Q+A �State Voices
Tuskegee University�Monyai Chavers
Q+A �Monyai Chavers
Electoral Redistricting in College Classrooms
SLSV
July 14, 2021
Rebecca Theobald, Assistant Research Professor
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
GeoCivics
How does electoral redistricting relate to your role on campus?
https://tinyurl.com/URedist
GeoCivics Overview
GeoCivics: Redistricting of the people, by the people, and for the people
1. Experience history on the map
3. Use a GIS tutorial to make your voice heard
Visit
geocivics.uccs.edu
for resources
2. Learn the rules
Explore population change over time�Prioritize redistricting criteria�Identify, define, and draw community�Create your own districts
Students in Political Geography
Preserving communities of interest and boundaries was a massive challenge for this map. Colorado’s mixture of vast, sparsely populated land and densely populated city centers made for a variety of sizes and shapes in my senate districts. It was difficult to even keep large cities grouped together.
This assignment showed the diligence and objectivity needed when redistricting the Congressional, State Senate, and State House districts. I found this project to be frustrating and time intensive; in no way did this project allow for hasty decisions.
Developing the Senate map was extremely more difficult than the Congressional map as I had to examine thirty-five districts compared to only seven. In a geographical sense, this required more familiarity with the specific rather than the general because there were more locations to consider when analyzing environmental characteristics. Because of my limited knowledge with areas beyond Colorado Springs, I had to reference the current Senate map to minimize the impacts of political subdivisions and communities of interest.
This was a humbling experience that increased my political and geographical awareness. I am appreciative of this commission as I now understand how daunting the redistricting process is. I recognize that no perfect map exists, but I am confident that you will create districts that are fair to the fullest extent possible.
I enjoyed the opportunity to participate in this process, not just because it was a requirement for the class but because it gave me valuable experience. I realized just how difficult this task can be, but I also realized that with thoughtful planning, fairness is in no way out of reach.
On the Move
Visualize population change over time using National Geographic Giant Maps
https://tinyurl.com/URedist�https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2iSCSXrAVI�https://coga.uccs.edu/colorado_giant_map�A User’s Guide to Giant Floor Maps, The Geography Teacher�Giant Maps as Pedagogical Tools for Teaching Geography and Mathematics, Journal of Geography
Explore Video Explaining National Geographic’s Giant Map
What if you don’t have access to a Giant Map?
Driving map and LEGOs
Guiding Students to Assess and Create Fair Electoral District Maps:�Challenges of Electoral Redistricting in the Era of Geospatial Technology
Who decides how to draw the lines where?
https://drawthelinespa.org/about-us/flashes-of-insight-exercise�https://geocivics.itch.io/prioritizing-districts
Importance of Traditional Redistricting Principles and State Criteria
https://drawthelinespa.org/about-us/flashes-of-insight-exercise
https://www.representable.org/
Draw and Describe your Community
Representable.org
constitute
fair
map
Geographic Terms from Public Comments
https://geocivics.uccs.edu/geography/geospatialtechnology���
Geospatial Technology Tools
How to redraw districts? Consider alternative maps.
Use Esri’s�Government and Civics�GeoInquiries Collection as an entry point across multiple instructional levels
Massachusetts Redistricting:�A Simulation
Using ArcGIS Online
Multi-disciplinary collaboration
Ideas for Classes and Campuses
People should feel that their voices are heard
Thank You
Questions?
Rebecca Theobald
rtheobal@uccs.edu
geocivics50@gmail.com
How we can help
Spring Semester
Summer Semester
Fall Semester
Next Steps