Video
We are in the midst of one of the most rancorous redistricting sessions in our country’s history. Partisan officials – mostly but not only in conservative legislatures – are using the drawing of new congressional, state and local election districts to amass disproportionate power for themselves. How successfully can this be resisted? Meanwhile, the many independent/nonpartisan commissions established in states in recent years were meant to help avoid this problem. Are they working to do so? If so, which ones are, which ones aren’t, where and why?
Join the Ash Center and Equal Democracy Project at Harvard Law School to learn about the state of redistricting in this moment, litigation that is occurring under a dramatically weakened Voting Rights Act, and how different redistricting commissions are faring, with:
Ben Schneer, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School
Mitchell Brown, Counsel, Voting Rights, Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Colleen Mathis, former Chair of the Independent Redistricting Commission of Arizona
Cathy Duvall, Managing Consultant, Fair Representation in Redistricting
Moderated by: Nick Stephanopoulos, Harvard Law School
Commentary
In this paper, Mary W. Graham, co-director of the Center’s Transparency Policy Project, explores the unintended information inequities that weaken the nation’s vital health and safety alerts. By examining three policies — wildfire alerts, drinking water reports, and auto safety recalls — she suggests common sources of inequality problems and steps policy makers are taking to remedy them.
Feature
In their latest article for The Conversation, Justin de Benedictis-Kessner and Christopher Warshaw explain that there’s no empirical evidence linking crime trends to leadership by either political party.
Policy Brief
Tova Wang and Melina Geser-Stark argue that while grassroots advocacy has been pivotal in advancing voting rights, it remains overshadowed by the perception that voter reform is the domain of political elites — a view this paper challenges by examining how grassroots efforts mirror modern social movements and drive the push for a more inclusive democracy.