{"id":5406,"date":"2019-02-28T16:06:39","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T21:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/?p=5406"},"modified":"2019-03-01T11:34:23","modified_gmt":"2019-03-01T16:34:23","slug":"letting-citizens-draw-district-maps-is-an-idea-whose-time-has-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/2019\/02\/28\/letting-citizens-draw-district-maps-is-an-idea-whose-time-has-come\/","title":{"rendered":"Letting citizens draw district maps: an idea whose time has come"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a>Grassroots activists from across South Carolina gathered in Columbia on Saturday for a full day of Census and Fair Maps workshop. It was the “soft” launch of a plan the SC Progressive Network and allies have been crafting for a long time that would empower voters to end gerrymandering in South Carolina while at the same time building a popular movement for social and political change.<\/p>\n

The workshops trained a core group of activists to initiate the Fair Maps capaign models and recruit partner organizations ahead of the major launch in April.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter <\/strong>and Leroy Johnson<\/strong>, founder of Southern Echo<\/a>, opened the morning session on the 2020 US Census by stressing the importance of getting a correct count in South Carolina and the inherent challenges of reaching certain populations. Federal US Census coordinator for SC Mary Peeler<\/strong> outlined how the 2020 numbers will affect voting and money allocated to the state. Florida-based Juanita Alvarex Mainster<\/strong> talked about outreach in Hispanic and migrant worker communities, and US Census geographer Wes Flack<\/strong> broke down how federal Census workers will coordinate with local governments and non-governmental organizations. Will Roberts<\/strong>, our State Political Cartographer in charge of drawing districts, reviewed where populations have changed, and how lines will move to accomodate changes.
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\"\"<\/a>Vince Matthews, Senior Policy Advisor, SC Progressive Network
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Power Point presentations from the Census workshop are posted HERE<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After lunch, participants took a deep dive into our legislative package on redistricting and mapping a timeline for the grassroots campaign to get it passed. Rep. Cobb-Hunter<\/strong> and Sen. Mike Fanning<\/strong>, sponsors of the companion legislation, made the case for meaningful redisctricting while acknowledging how challenging it will be, given the stacked deck that is the General Assembly. Vince Matthews<\/strong>, senior policy advisor for the SC Progressive Network<\/a>, compared our plan to other redistricting proposals that allow politicians to remain in charge of the process.<\/p>\n

The legislation:<\/strong><\/p>\n