After investing close to $3.4 million in our state’s civic infrastructure to engage communities in census outreach, the New York Census Equity Fund (NYSCEF) turned its attention to ensuring broad public participation in the state’s post-census redistricting processes. In New York State, gerrymandering was traditionally used as an incumbent-protection program. To combat this practice, New York voters approved an amendment to the State constitution in 2014 that called for a ten-member redistricting commission to develop political district maps to present to the legislature for approval. This new process mandated a series of public hearings but provided no resources for community participation.
Recognizing this as an opportunity, NYSCEF awarded grants to advocacy groups, service organizations, and academic institutions throughout the State to make sure that traditionally underserved and overlooked communities of interest were able to: inform their constituents about how redistricting impacts their communities and constituencies; show how mapping software could be used to draw alternative district line proposals; and strategically interact with the redistricting commission to share community concerns. Redistricting is not yet over, but already there are important takeaways, as described in NYSCEF’s recently released report Lessons in Redistricting: Focused Grantmaking.
What will you learn?
- How NSYCEF helped increase public participation in the redistricting process
- Outcomes of the New York State redistricting process and updates on new developments
- The importance of inclusive and informed civic engagement in census, redistricting, and voting, and why they all matter
- Potential changes to be considered for future redistricting processes and philanthropy’s role
Speakers
- Melody Lopez, Director, New York State Civic Engagement Table
- Steven Romalewski, Director, Center for Urban Research, CUNY Graduate Center
- Erika Rosenberg, President and Chief Executive Officer, Center for Governmental Research
- Erika Wood (Moderator), Senior Program Officer, Ford Foundation
Who should attend?
Funders and nonprofit stakeholders invested in census, redistricting, and civic engagement work. What to expect: panel discussion.
Recording
In Collaboration with
