Redistricting Digital Organizing Workshop: We are in a difficult time for our country and in a world where in-person meetings, canvasses, and events are more difficult than ever. The resurgence of COVID is forcing groups to adjust their programming again. Tim Lim from Lim Consulting Services, along with CHARGE members Fair Count, Mi Familia Vota, and State Voices, will lead this workshop on adjusting your redistricting engagement programs this fall, particularly focusing on digital and SMS programming. The workshop will take place on September 2 at 1:00 pm ET and feature best practices, success stories, and top-level recommendations, followed by a Q&A session and group discussion. Register here.
Redistricting Communications Training: On behalf of the CHARGE Coalition and the Fair Representation in Redistricting coalition, we would like to invite you to a communications training session next Thursday, September 2, from 4:00 to 4:45 pm ET. With the census data release a few weeks in the rearview mirror, now is a good time to assess your communications efforts and their relationship to the other elements of your campaign (e.g., field and legal). Register here.
Please join Bolder Advocacy, State Voices, Common Cause, and Center for Popular Democracy on September 9, 2021 at 3-4:30 pm ET / 2-3:30 pm CT / 1 -2:30 pm MT / 12 -1:30 pm PT for a legal training about redistricting advocacy. The training will include an overview of the Rules of the Road for c3/c4 organizations, how to manage various legal scenarios while you advocate for fair and equitable maps and answer questions specific to your campaign. This training is designed for directors, program/campaign leads, and development staff. Feel free to pass along to organizations involved in redistricting advocacy. Please send legal questions or specific topics that you’d like this training to cover to erin@ekcstrategies.com. Register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Redistricting Community College in Spanish: Join us on September 15 at 7:00 pm ET for the new condensed version of the Redistricting Community College presented entirely in Spanish. Register here. Translated: Este 15 de Septiembre a las 7:00 PM hora del este, CHARGE va a tener un seminario web es una versión condensada de Redistricting Community College, pero se presenta completamente en español. En este seminario, cubriremos una introducción a la redistribución de distritos, el mapeo comunitario y el activismo comunitario. Registrar aquí.
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 Sep 3 and Sep 10. Register here.
Ohio Voted to End Gerrymandering -- Let’s Get To Work! Join Fair Districts Ohio, the League of Women Voters of Ohio, and Common Cause Ohio for a series of Regional Forums designed to inform about Redistricting in Ohio in 2021
Redistricting in Hawai'i & the Counties, Why It Matters, & What YOU Can Do!: Hawai'i redraws its congressional, state, and local county voting districts every ten years, and we need to make sure those maps represent us as accurately as possible. An open and transparent redistricting process is the foundation of political representation. Learn how you can support transparency and accountability to ensure that every person in Hawai;i is fully represented in our voting district maps for the next decade! Fair and transparent voting maps will enable us to truly hold legislators accountable on the issues we care about most. Join Common Cause Hawai'i on Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at 7:00 pm HT to learn about redistricting and how you can make a difference! Register here!
Both the Maryland Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission and Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission are preparing to draw our district boundaries and want to hear from YOU! Join Common Cause Maryland on Thursday, Sept. 9th, at 6pm ET for training covering how to testify, map your community, write letters to the editor, and more. Register here.
On August 25th, the All IN for Democracy coalition launched their redistricting mapping competition. The competition will be judged by the coalition's model redistricting commission, the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission. The ICRC is looking for maps that will protect communities of interest and that do not favor one political party over the other. The deadline for entries is Sept. 13th. Winners will receive cash prizes and their maps will be used as the standard to judge the maps proposed by the legislature, which is expected to return to Indianapolis to pass new maps in mid-September. Learn more here.
Resources and Announcements
Colorado Common Cause submitted suggestions for U.S. House and General Assembly maps to the state’s independent redistricting commissions last week. See this Twitter thread about the maps.
Fair Count has released their Elected Officials Redistricting Toolkit and Black Churches Redistricting Toolkit with key info about how to get your communities involved in redistricting! Download the elected officials toolkit and the black churches toolkit today!
