Women In Government Actions
As the cost of running for office continues to rise, many legislators are concerned with the increasing amount of money in politics and its effect on elections. At the 8th Annual Midwestern Regional Conference, a Task Force of women state legislators was formed to initiate a dialogue on the issue of campaign finance reform. Two of the topics studied were electronic filing of campaign contributions and states’ public access to this material. The Task Force worked on the issue of campaign finance reform and furthered discussion in other areas including public funding of elections. The Task Force was composed of legislators from several states, including Maine, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota and Kansas. Furthermore, State Directors from Rhode Island brought information received from Women In Government seminars to their respective appropriations and budget committees for review.
Women In Government Recent Events
May 2012
Women In Government featured an update on state election laws & redistrictingat the 15th Annual Western Regional Conference in Portland, Oregon. Lee Rowland, counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice’s Democracy Program, spoke about her work on such issues as community-based voter registration, voter registration modernization, and restoring the right to vote to individuals with past criminal convictions. She currently serves as counsel to the League of Women Voters of Florida and other groups in constitutional and statutory challenges to Florida’s 2011. She gave legislators information on state and federal election laws, including voting rights, registration, voting by mail, open primaries, and redistricting. To learn more, view her presentation here. Also featured in this segment was Senator Suzanne Williams. She spoke about her work in Colorado where she recently passed legislation to increase voting access for military personnel abroad.
January 2011
With the 2010 Census data being presented to states in Feburary 2011, Women In Government featured a session on Redistricting at the 17th Annual Midwestern Regional Conference. Myrna Perez, JD, Counsel from the Brennen Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law spoke about how legislators can positively impact redistricting in the state and keep an eye toward diversity, fairness and accountability, and her materials are available here.
Redistricting was a featured topic at the 16th Annual State Directors' Conference and Justin Levitt, JD, MPA, Counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law spoke abouthow the Brennan Center for Justice works on redistricting practices and reform initiatives, presents testimony before decision makers, consults for advocates, and provides publications on redistricting. By the end of session in 2011 or early 2012 most redistricting will be complete, and in most states the legislature has primary control of drawing the district lines. If the legislature or other entities are unable to draw district lines then ultimately courts decide. In the last cycle courts drew legislative districts in seven states and drew nine congressional districts. Federal protections require equal population in the districts, “one person, one vote.” The Voting Rights Act also must be taken into account so that minority votes are not diluted. The principles for effective redistricting include: meaningful transparency, meaningful independence, meaningful diversity, and meaningful guidance. Please look at Justin Levitt PowerPoint Presentation and The Brennan Center for Justice Redistrcting Handout for more information!
Additional Resources
