Citizenship Data & Redistricting: New Opinion Research
Join us on January 31 at 12 pm ET to learn about the findings from new opinion research about using total population versus citizens of voting age when drawing district lines – and how to talk about this technical, yet important issue for communities and our democracy. This webinar will provide background on this topic, present new research about public attitudes, and begin a discussion about ways to discuss this issue. The webinar will also provide a quick overview of the funder collaborative.
This webinar will provide background on this topic, present new research about public attitudes, and begin a discussion about ways to discuss this issue. The webinar will also provide a quick overview of the funder collaborative.
This webinar will be useful to funders who have been engaged in the 2020 census as well as those who are interested in the upcoming redistricting efforts in states.
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Although the citizenship question was removed from the 2020 census, President Trump issued an executive order creating a new database on citizenship. The new database will become available early next year in time to be shipped to states with the 2020 census data.
Traditionally, states have used the census data – that is, total population – when drawing district lines. However, instead of using total population data, some states are contemplating drawing state legislative districts by counting only the total number of citizens or citizens of voting age. In fact, state legislation to make such a change has already been introduced.
A 2016 Supreme Court decision – Evenwel v. Abbott – left the door open for using voting-eligible populations, instead of total population, when drawing district lines if there was accurate data. Now that the Census Bureau will be supplying states with data from its new citizenship database, we will likely see this topic come back to the Supreme Court.
Since this would have a dramatic impact on fair representation, how community resources are allocated, and political power, Fair Representation in Redistricting, a funder collaborative, commissioned Lake Research Partners to conduct opinion research on this topic.
Host Organization(s):
- Funders' Committee for Civic Participation,
- Bauman Foundation,
- Open Society Foundations
This free webinar is made possible from the support of the host organizations. Philanthropy Delaware is a proud member of the United Philanthropy Forum.
Click here to register.
