How Can I Participate in Redistricting?
"Latino community leaders need to ensure that our community gets its fair share of representation by participating in redistricting and being faithful to the interests of the community"
Arturo Vargas, Executive Director of NALEO Educational Fund
- Stay Informed and Inform Others
- Make the redistricting process open and transparent
- Work with Local Media
- Circulate a Petition or Sign-on Letter
- Write a Letter to the Editor
- Give Interviews to Your Local Press
- Attend and Speak at Redistricting Meetings and Hearings
- Other useful tips for attending public hearings
- Submit a Written Statement
- Steps to follow after the redistricting hearings
- Submit Comments to the U.S. Department of Justice
- Report a Redistricting Plan that Denies Latinos Fair Representation
Redistricting is critical to providing communities a voice at every level of government for the next 10 years. Latinos are the second largest population group in the United States and it is important that Latinos have a fair opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. However, fair representation does not come on its own. It requires the participation of all community members including, elected and appointed officials, community activists, and ordinary community members. In short, it requires YOU! |
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Inform Others. Spread the word to your friends and neighbors about the importance of redistricting to the Latino community and encourage them to participate in the process. There are several ways to get others involved, including: Share this website: Share the link to the NALEO Educational Fund's redistricting website with others. If you are on Facebook or use other social media, be sure to share the link with your online friends and networks. Make announcements: Churches, parent/teacher associations, civic groups, and other organizations often encourage public announcements about events of interest to those in attendance. Take advantage of opportunities to announce redistricting meetings, hearings, and events to get your friends and neighbors involved. Tell others about NALEO Educational Fund's Redistricting Initiative. |
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Distribute flyers: Flyers are an inexpensive way to communicate about redistricting events. Tell your community about efforts to inform and organize Latino participation in the redistricting process. Provide information regarding public meetings, hearings, petitions, and rallies. |
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Prepare your flyers in both English and Spanish to reach everyone in the Latino community. Organize a redistricting meeting with your friends and neighbors: Grassroots involvement has been crucial to Latino successes in recent campaigns such as the Census, Citizenship drive, and other significant events such as the renewal of the Voting Rights Act in 2006. Redistricting is no different. |
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One of the most effective ways to get your friends and neighbors involved is through hosting a redistricting meeting at your home. Consider organizing a neighborhood pot luck, coffee, or barbeque event to bring people together. Share information about redistricting and its importance to the Latino community. Discuss ways to get involved, including the tips provided on this webpage. Organize and coordinate your redistricting strategy to be more effective |
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Work with State and Local Officials: In some states state and local officials play a key role in redistricting. A good working relationship with those officials can make them more receptive to your views. Work in partnership with them on ways to make the process more open and accessible to the Latino community, including: |
2. Make the redistricting process open and transparent: Redistricting should be open and allow public participation. Make sure that officials give the public an opportunity to comment before plans are drawn, on all proposed redistricting plans and provide input on special considerations for the communities of interest of the Latino community. Final decisions on redistricting plans should come in meetings open to the public, and not behind closed doors. |
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Widely advertise redistricting meetings and hearings: Officials should widely advertise information about the redistricting process, including meetings, opportunities for public input, hearings, and scheduled votes on proposed redistricting plans. Public announcements should be made as early as possible. They should come not only through the media, but in coordination with Latino civic and community-based organizations. Hold public meetings and hearings at convenient times and places: It does little good to have redistricting meetings that are open to the public if they are at times and locations when most community members cannot participate. Public meetings should be held in the evenings and on the weekend at locations that are accessible to the Latino community. Officials should coordinate with civic leaders, including those from the Latino community, to identify the times and locations that will be most convenient to maximize public participation. |
Hold public meetings and hearings near public transportation and free parking: Officials should make meetings near public transportation and where free parking is available. Meetings should be accessible to all members of the community. |
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Speak at redistricting meetings and hearings: Redistricting officials must consider the comments and concerns of the Latino community. Public meetings should include time for members of the community to share their views on the redistricting process and proposed plans. Latino elected and appointed officials and community activists should be included as witnesses at hearings. |
Communicate all redistricting information in Spanish: Officials should ensure that all redistricting information is provided in both English and Spanish to ensure all community members can participate. Officials should ensure that outreach announcements over television and radio include Spanish language media including Spanish language newspapers serving the communities. Finally, officials should offer Spanish language translators for public meetings and hearings.
3. Work with Local Media. Encourage local media serving the Latino community to write or report redistricting stories. Stories should educate the public about the redistricting process, including the changing demographics in your community that were identified in the 2010 Census. They should inform the public about upcoming events and opportunities to participate. Latino officials and community activists who are active in the redistricting process should be interviewed. Local media is essential to getting the word out about redistricting to the Latino community. |
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4. Circulate a Petition or Sign-on Letter. Petitions and sign-on letters are a great way to educate members of your community about the redistricting process and its impact on Latinos. They also can be used to inform redistricting officials about the viewpoints of key players in the Latino community. The process of gathering signatures for petitions or sign-on letters is very energizing. It gets people interested and involved in the process. |
Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when you circulate a petition or sign-on letter:
Petitions or letters should have a specific "ask": What are you asking the redistricting entity or officials to do? For example, if a proposed redistricting plan would divide the Latino community of interest between districts, your "ask" might be to keep the Latino community of interest together in the same district.
Coordinate with other Latino officials, activists, and organizations first: It is critical that any "ask" be presented in a unified way by the Latino community. If the Latino community itself is divided on your "ask," it will be more difficult to persuade redistricting officials. It also is better to present a single, unified statement about a proposed redistricting plan.
Address petitions and letters to the redistricting officials: The petition or letter should be addressed to redistricting officials to ensure that it is considered during the redistricting process. The officials should be identified by their title or addressed as "The Honorable (full name)." Request in the petition or letter be included in the public record that the officials or redistricting entity are creating.
Be respectful and courteous in your tone: The petition or letter should be respectful and courteous in its tone, even if you strongly disagree with an action that has been proposed or taken by the redistricting entity or officials. You can take a strong a position but still be polite. Failing to be polite will make it more likely that your "ask" will be ignored.
Be concise: Redistricting officials may have to review thousands of pages of documents. Your petition or letter is more likely to be read and to make a difference if it is short and to the point. Try to keep your petition or letter to no more than two pages, not including pages listing the individuals or organizations that signed onto it.
Prepare it in English and Spanish: You want to make sure that all members of the Latino community have access to your petition or letter. You therefore want to prepare your petition in English and Spanish. Doing so will remind redistricting officials of the importance that they also communicate redistricting information in both English and Spanish.
Make sure it is timely: A petition or letter will carry the most weight if it is provided to redistricting officials early in the process. If they are submitted later in the process, such as before a vote on a proposed plan, they should focus on an "ask" specific to that event (such as, "Vote NO on Redistricting Plan A").
Provide it to local media: Whenever possible, try to get your petition or letter or efforts to circulate it published by the local media. That will make it more accessible to others inside and outside of the community.
5. Write a Letter to the Editor. Writing a letter to the editor or an opinion-editorial (op-ed) article can be a great way to communicate your views on the redistricting process or a proposed plan to everyone in your community. Many of the suggestions for petitions and sign-on letters apply here. In addition, your local newspaper probably has guidelines that must be followed in any letter or article that you submit. Make sure you follow them. Your submission needs to be concise, grammatically correct, and in printable form. You may be able to improve your chances of getting your letter or article published if you provide a little information about why your perspective is unique and important. For example, if you are the chair of a local Latino organization, make sure you mention that in your letter. |
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6. Give Interviews to Your Local Press. Often, local news organizations will contact Latino officials or leaders for an interview on an issue affecting their community. They also may seek comments by average community member. These "man on the street" or "woman on the street" interviews can provide an effective opportunity to explain your views on the redistricting process or special considerations for Latinos. Although an interview may last several minutes, usually only a small portion of it will be aired. That makes it important to speak in "sound bites." Summarize your views by stating key points that take around 10 seconds to communicate. An overall summary such as, "I oppose Redistricting Plan A because it divides the neighborhood in El Sereno," can be especially effective. |
7. Attend and Speak at Redistricting Meetings and Hearings. Redistricting meetings and hearings are open to the public to keep members of your community informed about the process and to offer opportunities to provide input. Consequently, it is critical that members of the Latino community attend those events. |
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Take advantage of opportunities to speak at redistricting meetings. Here are some tips to make your participation more effective:
Arrive early: Space at public meetings and hearings may be limited. You should get to the meeting or hearing location early. Although the specific time you should show up may vary, arriving at least 30 minutes early is usually a good idea. Remember that the smaller the capacity for the location, the more difficult it may be to get a seat. Room may be limited to comply with the local fire code.
Sign up in advance: Although members of the public are encouraged to speak at redistricting meetings, there is often limited time and some meetings may require you to sign up in advance. Announcements for meetings usually indicate whether it is necessary to sign up. Some meetings may place a limit on the number of people who can speak. Therefore, sign up as early as possible…. and encourage others to do the same.
Organize a group to attend and have a coordinated message: Having a large Latino presence at public meetings and hearings is very important. It shows redistricting officials that the Latino community cares about the redistricting process. Having a common message also reinforces the needs and interests of the Latino community should be reflected in the redistricting plan that is adopted. Remember that the message should be similar not verbatim. Finally, the entire group does not have to speak, but there is strength in numbers when several people show up.
Elements of your spoken testimony: The content of your testimony will vary at different stages of the redistricting process but in general your testimony should answer the question Why should your community be kept together?
Testimony should focus on identifying your community of interest. There is no single definition for a community of interest but generally, a community of interest is a community that shares a common experience, similar social and economic characteristics, similar values, etc. To learn more about a community of interest visit the Redistricting Fundamentals section in the Toolkit menu of this website.
Your testimony should include a map defining the physical boundaries of your community of interest, demographic data and qualitative data that illustrates your shared community experiences, and should also state the communities that are around you that are most similar to you and most different from you.
If maps have already been presented your testimony should articulate whether or not existing maps respect your community of interest.
Tell a personal story: Often, the most compelling information you can provide in a in your comments at a meeting or hearing is about your own experiences with voting and redistricting, or the experiences of others you know. For example, you may want to describe how your community changed and saw improvements such as better roads or English literacy programs after the first Latino was elected to your county commission.
8. Other useful tips for attending public hearings: Take notes: Make sure you bring a notepad and a pen or pencil to take notes at the meeting or hearing. Sometimes, the redistricting entity's meeting minutes may not capture everything, or minutes may not be taken at all. Later on, you may need to use your notes to help prepare a petition, a sign-on letter, submit comments to the U.S. Department of Justice, or for other reasons. |
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Although your notes are private, treat them as if they are not. For example, if you are later a witness in a court case challenging a redistricting plan, your notes may become evidence. Therefore, limit your notes to describing what happens or is said at the meeting or hearing. Do not editorialize or doodle.
When you take notes, try to summarize what people say and, if possible, the name and title of the person making the statement.
Be a model citizen: When you disagree with a comment made during the proceedings be respectful and courteous in your response.
"Attend" through television, radio, or the Internet if you cannot be there in person: Many redistricting meetings and hearings will be broadcast on television or radio. They also may be posted on the redistricting entity's website. If you cannot attend in person, stay informed by viewing or listening to the meetings or hearings through one of those media.
Keep a copy of the agenda, meeting minutes, and any transcripts: The redistricting entity often will provide the public with information from the meeting or hearing. Those materials may be provided through the entity's website. Try to obtain and keep a copy of those materials. You may need them to prepare a petition, a sign-on letter, submit comments to the U.S. Department of Justice, or for other reasons.
Correct inaccurate statements and clarify the record: Correct inaccurate statements made by others, especially if they have falsely implied that they speak for your community. For example, you may want to correct a statement that "all of the Latino civic organizations support this plan" if it is not true. In addition, you may want to clarify the public record if information about the redistricting process has been omitted.
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9. Submit a Written Statement Often, redistricting entities will allow submission of written comments at public meetings or hearings. If written comments are permitted, then prepare and submit them. To make your written statement effective, follow these tips: Coordinate your statement with others from your community: Coordinate your statement with other individuals or organizations from the Latino community that have similar interests in redistricting. If possible, you want to maximize the impact that the statements that you and others from your community have by presenting a united position. |
Be concise: Written statements should be concise and focused. They should be easy to read and should communicate your points clearly and effectively. Redistricting officials may have to review thousands of pages of documents. Your written statement is more likely to be read and to make a difference if it is short and to the point
Use headings that summarize your statement: Headings can allow redistricting officials to quickly turn to a particular portion of your written statement.
Include information that is important to Latino representation: Your written statement should provide redistricting officials with the information they need to provide Latinos with fair representation. Here are some examples of information to include in a written statement:
- Demographics of Latinos in the community and under proposed plans;
- Special redistricting considerations affecting the Latino community;
- Identification of Latino communities of interest;
- Descriptions of efforts to reduce the ability of Latinos to elect their candidates of choice by dividing the Latino community (what is called "cracking") or by minimizing the number of districts from the Latino community (what is called "packing");
- Discrimination against Latinos in the community that can impact their participation in elections, including discrimination in education, housing, and in registration and voting activities;
- Court findings of discrimination against Latinos in the community; and
- Impact of past redistricting on Latino political participation.
Tell a personal story: Often, the most compelling information you can provide in a written statement or in your comments at a meeting or hearing is about your own experiences. For example, you may want to describe how your community changed and saw improvements such as better roads or English literacy programs after the first Latino was elected to your county commission.
Bring copies of your written statement: A redistricting entity may ask that you provide a certain number of copies of your written statement at the meeting or hearing. Usually, the announcement for the meeting or invitation to testify at the hearing will tell you how many copies need to be provided.
Issue a press release with your statement: Members of the media usually attend redistricting meetings and hearings to file reports on what happened. If you are planning on submitting written comments or have been asked to testify at a hearing, consider issuing a press release to highlight key points from your comments. A press release typically should be limited to one page. It should include prepared quotes that are attributed to you such as, "City Councilwoman Maria Ramirez testified, 'While Latinos have made great strides in securing fair representation, more work needs to be done.'"
Make sure you have enough copies of your statement for members of the local press.
Click here for examples of press releases the NALEO Educational Fund has issued.
Coordinate with Latino activists and organizations to submit a redistricting plan: The submission of multiple plans from the Latino community makes it less likely that any of them will be seriously considered by the redistricting panel. It is important to present a united front wherever possible. Contact NALEO Educational Fund to learn of organizations that may be mapping in your area at agarcia@naleo.org
Prepare for questions from redistricting officials: After you and all of the other witnesses give your opening statements, the redistricting officials will likely ask you questions about your written statement and testimony. |
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Here are some specific tips that will help you prepare and make the question and answer portion of the hearing more effective:
- Identify key points that may be the subject of questions and prepare your responses.
- Conduct a mock question and answer session with other witnesses and allies working with you to secure fair representation for Latinos. It often is helpful if those working with you role-play the redistricting officials before the hearing to simulate what you will likely experience.
- Listen carefully to the questions that are asked, and write them down so you can make sure you answer them.
- Keep your answers short and to the point. Sound bites can be especially effective in answering questions because they are more likely to be included in media reports.
- Be prepared to cite key data that supports your response to a question, or refer to a draft redistricting plan if one is available to make your point.
- If you are asked a question that is based upon a false premise, tactfully correct it before answering. For example, a redistricting official may ask you, "Ms. Flores, explain why you are seeking to gerrymander a district in Pasadena." You might respond, "Mr. Chairman, I respectfully disagree with the premise of your question. The proposed redistricting plan would divide the Latino community into two districts and thereby deny Latinos an equal opportunity to elect their candidates of choice in violation of the Voting Rights Act."
- Use the questions as an opportunity to supplement your oral testimony or to respond to statements made by other witnesses. Feel free to speak up, even if a question is asked of another witness. Just make sure that you are courteous when you do so and that you do not interrupt another speaker. For example, after the witness finishes speaking you might say, "Mr. Chairman, if I may, I would like to add that…."
10.Steps to follow after the redistricting hearings:
Respond to written questions following the hearing: You may be asked to respond to written questions from redistricting panelists after the hearing. Coordinate your answers with other witnesses from your community to ensure that your responses are consistent and helpful in securing fair representation for Latinos.
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Review the hearing transcript: If you have an opportunity to do so, review and correct any errors in the hearing transcript of your testimony before the transcript is finalized. Remember that whatever is printed in the final version of the transcript will be viewed as the official public record. Ensure the record reflects any concerns you have: The record must accurately reflect your views about how a proposed redistricting plan affects the Latino community. If you have concerns or objections to a plan, state those concerns on the record. |
Make sure your vote on the plan is consistent with any objections or concerns you have to the redistricting plan. This is very important because courts that may later review the plan will view your vote as your final statement in support of or in opposition to the plan. Courts usually will not try to determine what motivated you to take a particular position.
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12. Report a Redistricting Plan that Denies Latinos Fair Representation. If your state or local redistricting entity adopts a redistricting plan that denies Latinos fair representation, please contact Astrid Garcia, Director of State Election Policy and Redistricting for the NALEO Educational Fund, at agarcia@naleo.org. We will put you in touch with one of the organizations that represent Latinos in the courts, such as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund or the Latino Justice Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, or a voting rights attorney who partners with Latinos to secure fair representation. |