SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
What’s going on in Wyoming
Process
State Legislature
Wyoming's state legislative and congressional district lines are drawn by the Legislature as an ordinary statute, and are subject to the Governor's veto. The Legislature can override vetoes with a two-thirds vote in each chamber. Wyoming has only one at-large congressional district, so there is no congressional redistricting.
Criteria
In addition to the federal requirements of one person, one vote and the Voting Rights Act, Wyoming’s state constitution (Art. III § 49) requires that state legislative districts be contiguous, compact, and avoid county splits. In 2011, the Legislature adopted redistricting principles that further require that districts reflect communities of interest and “avoid diluting voting power of minorities in violation of the Voting Rights Act.”
Public Input
While Wyoming law does not require public hearings, the legislative committee responsible for redistricting held hearings across the state in the summer of 2011. The Legislature also accepted public comment on its website. It is likely that there will be similar opportunities for public input in 2021.
Issues
Pitfalls
Republicans currently have supermajorities in both chambers of the Wyoming Legislature, meaning they could override a reformist governor's veto. This could mean single-party control of the redistricting process, which increases the risk of partisan gerrymandering.
Census Delays
- State legislative redistricting plan deadline: End of the 2022 budget session; likely March 9, 2022 (Art. III § 48)
The Census Bureau may delay sending population data to states until as late as July 31, 2021. As Wyoming has a late deadline for redistricting, the data delay should have little to no impact.
History
In 2011, some people raised concerns that legislators were drawing lines that incorporated more rural land into urban districts in order to protect influential incumbents. They also criticized prison gerrymandering, or the practice of counting prisoners as residents of the districts where their prisons are located, as opposed to being counted as residents of their home address. Some legislators involved in the process acknowledged their shortcomings in previous redistricting cycles.
Actions
In 2020, support state legislative candidates who favor fair districting. The entire Wyoming House and half of the Wyoming Senate will be up for re-election in 2020.
In 2021, participate in the public input process.
- Obtain Wyoming redistricting data from OpenPrecincts.
- Start to plan out what defines your community – whether it’s a shared economic interest, school districts, or other social or other cultural, historical, or economic interests – and how that can be represented on a map. This will come in handy once the Legislature starts collecting feedback.
- Use software tools such as Dave's Redistricting App and Districtr to draw district maps showing either (a) what a fair map would look like, or (b) where the community you believe should be better represented is located.
Read the Common Cause Activist Handbook on Redistricting Reform to learn about what reforms have been successful in the past, and what steps to take to enact reform in the future. Wyoming has a ballot initiative process, offering a direct pathway for citizens to create change.
Contacts
Data provided by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project