1. Redistricting 101 Justin Levitt October 22, 2009

2. The Brennan Center and redistricting Based at NYU, but work nationwide Think tank, advocacy group, law firm Study of redistricting practices and reform initiatives Testimony before decisionmakers Consulting for advocates Advocacy and publication

3. The Midwest Democracy Network Alliance of political reform advocates 5 Midwest states Public education Civic organization training Policy formulation Public advocacy and pressure for reform

4. Today’s conversation What? When? Why? Who? Where? How?

5. Today’s conversation What? When? Why? Who? Where? How?

6. What is “redistricting”? Every 10 years (at least), after the census Congress, state legislature, many local legislatures Sorts voters into groups, distributes political power

7. A brief history Patrick Henry and James Madison Elbridge Gerry the more things change... TX-29

8. Today’s conversation What? When? Why? Who? Where? How?

9. Key redistricting dates April 1, 2010― December 31, 2010― January 10, 2011― April 1, 2011― End of session 2011 ― or early 2012 Census Day Census count to President Apportionment to U.S. House Redistricting data to states Most redistricting complete

10. Today’s conversation What? When? Why? Who? Where? How?

11. Blunt measure #1: voter choice had no major-party challenger in 2008 39.5% of state legislative races Source: Ballot Access News, Nov. 1, 2008

12. Redistricting is a part of the process District Partisanship Incumbent Situation Election Outcome Candidate Type Money Raised National Mood Demographic Change Campaign Finance Term Limits Redistricting Source: Michael McDonald & John Samples, The Marketplace of Democracy 14

13. Blunt measure #2: shape

14. Is this a good district? You can’t know if a district is “good,” unless you know what it’s trying to achieve

15. Is this a good district? Is she a good singer?

16. Why does redistricting matter? Politicians choosing their voters Eliminating incumbents or challengers Diluting minority votes Splitting up communities Barack Obama’s house

17. Why does redistricting matter? If you care about representation, and you care about political power, then you care about redistricting should

18. Today’s conversation What? When? Why? Who? Where? How?

19. Redistricting institutions AdvisoryPrimary control in the legislature Primary control outside legislature Politician Backup State legislative districts Congressional districts

20. Legislators usually draw their own lines In most states, the legislature has primary control State legislative districts: 37 states Congressional districts: 38 states (and 7 states with 1 Congressional district)

21. … and if that should fail In the last cycle, Courts drew state legislative districts in 7 states Courts drew congressional districts in 9 states

22. Today’s conversation What? When? Why? Who? Where? How?

23. “Where” starts with federal protections Equal population Race and the Voting Rights Act

24. Equal population – one person, one vote Congress: as equal as possible State legislature: ~10% spread if good reason

25. Minority representation Cracking Packing

26. The Voting Rights Act Section 2 Do minorities represent most of the voters in a compact area? Is there polarized voting? Is the minority population otherwise protected given the “totality of the circumstances”? Do Not Dilute

27. After federal law, add state limitations Contiguity Political boundaries Compactness Communities of interest Partisanship/competition Nesting State leg.Congress 4822 4218 3617 2413 107 14 n/a

28. State limitations Contiguity Political boundaries Compactness Communities of interest Partisanship/competition Nesting

29. Contiguity All parts of the district are adjacent to each other

30. State limitations Contiguity Political boundaries Compactness Communities of interest Partisanship/competition Nesting

31. Political boundaries Follow county / city / town / ward lines Split as few as possible v. split each into as few pieces as possible

32. State limitations Contiguity Political boundaries Compactness Communities of interest Partisanship/competition Nesting

33. Compactness Concerns the appearance of the district (or how close people live to each other)

34. State limitations Contiguity Political boundaries Compactness Communities of interest Partisanship/competition Nesting

35. Communities of interest Kansas -- “Social, cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic interests common to the population of the area, which are probable subjects of legislation... should be considered. [S]ome communities of interest lend themselves more readily than others to being embodied in legislative districts...”

36. State limitations Contiguity Political boundaries Compactness Communities of interest Partisanship/competition Nesting

37. Partisanship and competition Two primary models: Prohibition on undue favoritism Affirmatively encourage competition

38. State limitations Contiguity Political boundaries Compactness Communities of interest Partisanship/competition Nesting

39. Senate Assembly Not nested Nested

40. Influencing the process Tangible next steps Census Redistricting

41. Influencing the census Educate your community Recruit census takers Become a census partner Staff a help center Focus on “hard to count” areas

42. 2000 population in hard-to-count areas Source: Election Data Services

43. Influencing redistricting (short-term) Educate your community (what? when? why? who? where?) Identify and map community boundaries Attend hearings Present alternative maps Don’t forget local districts

44. Mapping community boundaries

45. Influencing redistricting (long-term) There is hunger for change Source: Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, Poll 9-10/09

46. Influencing redistricting (long-term) 1.Meaningful independence 2.Meaningful diversity 3.Meaningful guidance 4.Meaningful transparency Principles for effective redistricting

47. Meaningful independence One of the players shouldn’t also be the umpire That means staff, too This is not the same as taking politics out of redistricting Legislature can still have a role -Select those who draw the lines -Review (and tweak) lines afterward 1

48. Meaningful diversity Those who draw the lines should reflect the state Need sufficient size Need political incentive to choose diverse membership Needs to be expressly stated 2

49. Meaningful guidance Criteria that reflect basic goals Enough flexibility to accommodate local exceptions Communities of interest Statewide majority is legislative majority 3

50. Meaningful transparency Multiple opportunities for meaningful public input Data and tools to facilitate response Some explanation from redistricting body 4

51. Training others What? When? Why? Who? Where? How? What is the process in your state? Where are the points of access?

52. Justin Levitt Brennan Center for Justice justin.levitt@nyu.edu www.brennancenter.org justin.levitt@nyu.edu www.brennancenter.org Midwest Democracy Network www.midwestdemocracynetwork.org www.midwestdemocracynetwork.org Further information