According to the 2020 Census, racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S. has increased and changed in recent years, signifying the need for an equitable and fair redistricting where all residents feel represented.
Today we have the opportunity to have new data that allows the redrawing of the maps to be a breakthrough for social justice.
"American democracy is based on the principle that all people receive equal representation in the U.S. House of Representatives, in their state legislature and in local government, things like city council, county commission and school boards," said Yurij Rudensky, a redistricting attorney in the Brennan Center's Democracy Program.
During a briefing with the media organized by Ethnic Media ServicesIn his opinion, the specialist explained that district boundaries have to be adjusted periodically to comply with this principle of equal representation.
"The census provides the population data and geographic elements for this periodic redistribution of political power, so it takes place every 10 years immediately following the release of the census results. In other words, over the next two months, political boundaries at the national, state and local levels will be redrawn."
And that is because the redistricting process exists to take into account the different ways in which the population has changed.
"This not only means that the district should have the same number of people, but ideally the districts should also be adjusted to reflect the demographic changes that have occurred. So that the increasingly diverse nation, and the growing African-American, Latino, Asian and Native communities that have historically suffered discrimination and are protected by the Voting Rights Act, have an equal opportunity to elect their candidates."
Unfortunately, in most states redistricting is a very political and partisan process, Rudensky said.
"When a political party controls the process, it can abuse and ignore the public interest to manufacture political outcomes". This gives rise to what is known in English as gerrymandering, a common term for these redistricting abuses.
"It's what happens when politicians ignore the public interest and changes in the population ... to manufacture political outcomes without any consideration," he said. "The goal of the gerrymandering is to secure an electoral advantage for a party or a set of current political or policy interests, so that they cannot be eliminated".
Also an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law, he stressed that the goal of gerrymandering is to take away meaningful choice from voters, which undermines the system of government that was supposed to be a reflection of the people.
He further explained that there are three factors that increase the risk of gerrymanderingThe first is whether one party controls the process and the state government; the second is whether the state is closely divided politically or is a rapidly evolving state politically; and the third is whether the demographics of the state are changing. "When all three of these factors are present, the risk is incredibly high."
In view of this, and in order to prevent the gerrymandering moving forward, it would be best to relinquish control over redistricting to an independent commission, where the map-drawers do not have the same political motivations as incumbent politicians. Such is the case in the states of California, Colorado, Michigan and Arizona.
"The idea with independent commissions is that they are more oriented toward identifying and serving public interests and interacting with the public through hearings, rather than producing certain electoral and political outcomes."
Diversity, the face of America.
Mark Hugo Lopez, director of research on race and ethnicity at Pew Research Center, noted that after some of the 2020 Census results were released last week, it is imminent that the nation continues to become more diverse.
The Census Bureau reported that white Americans, non-Hispanic, single-race white Americans make up 58 percent of the nation's population. "That's the lowest proportion we've seen for non-Hispanic whites in the United States, who have had a decline of 5 million."
However, with more than 200 million people, it remains the nation's largest racial or ethnic group overall.
He added that the Latino and Asian populations now account for three-quarters of the population growth.
The Hispanic population has grown to nearly 62 million people, and Latinos now make up 19 percent of the nation's total population, an increase of 23 percent in the past 10 years.
In addition, the African-American population now represents 12 percent of the population, the Asian community 6 percent, and Native Americans make up 1 percent of the more than 330 million people in the United States.
In terms of age, the expert highlighted that the number of older adults in the country also grew, and now reaches 20 million.
Lopez noted that 32 states had population growth, however, Washington D.C., Idaho and Utah reported the greatest growth of Caucasians.
On the other hand, he said, in many parts of the country, especially in the heartland, in states like Minnesota, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia, people have two or more races, so there is a real change and diversity happening.
"In many places, Hispanics or non-Latino Caucasians are the second largest group in states. Yet, interestingly, in many parts of the country people of two or more races are the second largest racial or ethnic group."
In that sense, 34 million Americans said they belong to more than one race, 9 million more than in 2010.
The 2020 Census also showed that the population has shifted significantly to urban areas, after rural areas have seen a considerable decline in the number of their residents.
Time to take action in the face of an endangered democracy
Interim Vice President of Government Affairs for the Leadership Conference Education Fund Jesselyn McCurdy said nothing is more fundamental than freedom and the right to vote, but right now democracy is in jeopardy.
"Nothing is more fundamental to American democracy than freedom and the right to vote. But right now our democracy is in danger and if we don't take immediate and direct action we will lose it."
The measures, he said, will be to fully protect against racial discrimination at the polls and to ensure that every voice and every vote counts, which is why he said Congress must pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the People's Bill.
"We filed a series of commissioned reports in 10 states, with more to come, that demonstrate to Congress that it is imperative and urgent to restore the Voting Rights Act, individually and collectively."
These reports, he said, reveal racial discrimination at the polls, where mainly African-American voters and voters of color have been blocked, so they hope that lawmakers will update the Voting Rights Act to respond to what is happening in the country and to the diversity of the U.S. population.
"We also continue to press Congress to pass the People Act, which will create national standards that protect our freedom to vote. It is being acted on in the Senate as a compromise bill," he stressed. "We look forward to action on that bill in the Senate in September, regardless of our race or zip code. We all value voting freedom and believe that all Americans should have a voice in key decisions that affect our lives."
You may be interested in: San Mateo Redistricting Advisory Commission Ready
