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. 

News

• Alaska: Huntsville City Council and School Board discuss redistricting. WHNT July 30, 2021.
• Arizona: Redistricting Commission sets listening sessions. Mohave Valley Daily News. July 27, 2021.
• Arkansas: MH to host public meeting on redistricting Tuesday night. KTLO. August 2, 2021.
• California: 
  • Long Beach Redistricting Commission process relies on communities of interest. California News Times. July 29, 2021.
  • Napa to begin months-long redistricting process. Napa Valley Register. July 31, 2021.
  • Redistricting workshop to take place at Kern County Board of Supervisors Chambers Saturday. 23ABC News. July 30, 2021.
• Colorado: 
  • Denver Launching City Council Redistricting Process. Westword. July 30, 2021.
  • Proposed legislative, congressional redistricting could affect Latino representation. The Post Independent. July 31, 2021.
• Georgia: How Georgia’s redistricting process falls short on transparency. The Current. July 30, 2021.
• Indiana: Warren County Supervisors to Discuss Redistricting Committee. KNIA-KRLS. August 1, 2021.
• Kansas: KS Legislature to hold 14 redistricting town halls in 5 days. Will that limit input?. The Kansas City Star. August 3, 2021.
• Maryland: Prince George’s Residents Urge Redistricting Commission To Keep Communities Whole. Patch. July 30, 2021.
• Minnesota: Communities of color want a voice in Minnesota redistricting. Sahan Journal. July 20, 2021.
• New Jersey: No consensus on congressional redistricting tiebreaker, parties say. New Jersey Globe. August 1, 2021.
• New York: Independent Redistricting Commission of New York State will hold public meeting on August 2nd. Carmel’s Hamlethub. July 31, 2021.
• Ohio: Census data coming soon, feds reiterate to Ohio officials eying redistricting
• Pennsylvania: Hearings begin this week on Pennsylvania legislative, congressional redistricting. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 2, 2021.
• South Carolina: SC Senate, House redistricting meetings planned. WIS. August 1, 2021.
• Tennessee: New Metro website wants your input as redistricting process begins. News Channel 5. July 27, 2021.
• Virginia: Redistricting challenges loom for Pittsylvania County. Danville Register & Bee. August 2, 2021.
• Washington: Redistricting committee holding public info session Thursday. The Spokesman-Review. August 2, 2021.

Job Announcements

• 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.