The U.S. Census Bureau will send redistricting data to the states on August 16 and then it's off to the races! Stay up to date on how you can get involved right here in the Gerrymander Gazette.
Trainings and Events
The New Mexico Citizen Redistricting Committee invites you to participate in the redistricting process. They will hold six more meetings between August 5 and August 14 that are open to the public. Find meeting dates, times, and details 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 7pm and Thursdays at noon 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 5 at noon MT, August 9 at 7:00 pm MT, 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.
Common Cause Pennsylvania is hosting office hours for anyone who has already received training on Districtr and community mapping in Pennsylvania to come and 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 6, 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.
The Ohio Council of Churches is hosting a webinar "Bring the Power Back to the People: Map Drawing and Redistricting Reform" on August 10 at 7:00pm. Learn more here.
Fair Districts Ohio is hosting "Drawing the Lines: A Forum on Community Mapping in Northeast Ohio" on August 10 at 7:00pm. Register here.
In 2011, Wisconsin state legislative and congressional districts fell victim to 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 Aug 17, 2021 at 06:00 PM Central Time 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.
Resources
The Florida Comms Hub, a project of Progress Florida and Florida Watch, has created a Fair Districting Letters to the Editor Toolkit in English and Spanish. This new resource includes a brief issue backgrounder, sample LTEs, best practices for getting published, a directory of media outlets including links for LTE submittals, and more. This new LTE toolkit is easily replicable for use in other states so feel free to create your own toolkit utilizing this one as a template. Check out the English toolkit here and the Spanish toolkit here.
Equal Ground (FL) is hiring for their Redistricting Fellowship Program! This is a remote position in which Fellows will execute an individualized redistricting plan and goals by the completion of the fellowship, educate their region on the redistricting process and intervention points, and serve as a redistricting process monitor via pre-recorded and live trainings. Multiple positions are available. To apply click here!
The County of Mendocino (CA) is seeking applicants for its Community-Based Advisory Redistricting Commission. Applications are due August 6. Apply here.
