People Powered Fair MapsTM is a national redistricting program of the League of Women Voters focused on creating fair political maps nationwide.
LWVUS People Powered Fair Maps (PPFM) FAQ
10 Things You Should Know About Redistricting
Designing a Transparent and Ethical Redistricting Process:
A Guide to Ensuring that the Redistricting Process is Fair, Open, and Accessible
By League of Women Voters US and Campaign Legal Center
LWVRI Position In Brief
Support a state redistricting process and standards that promote fair and effective representation in the state legislature and in the U.S. House of Representatives with maximum opportunity for public scrutiny.
Support of an independent, non-partisan commission with broad-based community, civic, and minority representation as the preferred redistricting body.
Full LWVRI Redistricting Position
2000 LWVRI Study covers RI Redistricting History and Law
- Ensure that R.I. puts the power of drawing districts in the hands of ordinary Rhode Islanders and not legislators. Sign a petition and show your support for proposed amendments to the R.I. Constitution to create an independent redistricting commission at Redraw RI.
- Read the House or Senate bills that would pave the way for an independent redistricting commission in Rhode Island.
Congressional districts and government legislative bodies should be apportioned substantially on population. We oppose partisan and racial gerrymandering that strips rights away from voters. Political and racial gerrymandering distorts and undermines representative democracy by allowing officials to select their voters rather than voters to elect their officials. When done for purposes of racial discrimination or to ensure the dominance of one political party, gerrymandering runs counter to equal voting rights for all eligible voters.
Read the 2022 Providence Committee on Ward Boundaries Report: https://tinyurl.com/2p8d5ed8 to understand the complexities of drawing lines.
Rhode Island Redistricting Resources
Special Commission on Reapportionment/Rhode Island Redistricting Project - Documents
Election Data Services, Inc. (consultants to the Reapportionment Commission)
RHODE ISLAND: 2020 Census
Public Use Microdata
United States Census Bureau
Explore Rhode Island Census Data
Created by the Rhode Island Department of State | Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea
Maps: Here’s how population changed in RI Assembly districts – and why it matters
WPRI, by: Eli Sherman, Posted: Aug 16, 2021 / 08:10 PM EDT / Updated: Aug 16, 2021 / 11:17 PM EDT
More Redistricting Education & Advocacy Resources
Redistricting Data: What to Expect and When
July 28, 2021 BY DR. RON JARMIN, ACTING DIRECTOR, US Census Bureau (see Protecting Confidentiality section)
- Training recording: Preparing your Testimony and Testifying
- Learn more about LWV of Washington's Speak Up Schools: https://lwvwa.org/speakup
- Testimonial example videos:
Redistricting Community Handbook
Communities of Interest Testimony - Worksheet (CHARGE Hub)
CHARGE has 9 organizations that work collaboratively to anchor the work: APIAVote, Center for Popular Democracy, Common Cause, Fair Count, League of Women Voters, Mi Familia Vota, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Congress of American Indians, and State Voices
User Mapping Resources
- RI Redistricting website set up by Consultant Kimball Brace
- MyDistricting.com Mapping Tool (Kimball Brace's promoted user tool)
- Representable Mapping Tool (Communities of Interest) and Quick User Tutorial (we can schedule more in-depth training sessions as requested)
- DistrictR Mapping Tool and Training Guides (also available for in-depth training sessions as requested)
Highlights:
Grassroots coalition calls on Redistricting Commission to eliminate Prison Gerrymandering: Article from UpriseRI and Letter from Common Cause signed by LWVRI.
Rhode Island General Assembly - Special Commission on Reapportionment
[SOURCE]
Mapping Consultant: Kimball Brace - Election Data Services - https://www.riredistricting.org/
The nine commission members appointed by House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, D-Warwick are:
- State Rep. Arthur Corvese, D-North Providence
- State Rep. Grace Diaz, D-Providence
- State Rep. Katherine Kazarian, D-East Providence
- State Rep. Brian Newberry, R-North Smithfield
- State Rep. Robert Phillips, D-Woonsocket
- State Rep. David Place, R-Burrillville
- Antonio Lopes, CEO of TILT Communications
- Kaprece Ransaw, a real estate agent
- Former state Rep. Stephen Ucci, who co-chaired the last reapportionment panel.
The nine commission members appointed by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, D-North Providence are:
- State Sen. Stephen Archambault, D-Smithfield
- State Sen. Walter Felag Jr., D-Warren
- State Sen. Ana Quezada, D-Providence
- State Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski, D-South Kingstown
- State Sen. Jessica de la Cruz, R-North Smithfield
- State Sen. Gordon Rogers, R-Foster
- Maria Bucci, former Cranston City Council member
- Alvin Reyes, an official at the IBEW Local 99 union
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Former state Sen. Harold Metts
View Special Commission for Reapportionment Hearings (live and archived) on Capitol TV:
Live and Upcoming
Archived (filter using search term "Reapportionment" at top left of page)
People Powered Fair Maps National Day of Action: Virtual Redistricting Forum - April 29, 2021
The RI League of Women Voters, Common Cause RI, and the Providence Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta hosted a free panel discussion on redistricting, featuring questions submitted by the public.
This panel was moderated by Ian Donnis, political reporter from The Public's Radio and host of RIPR's weekly Political Roundtable.
Our featured speakers were John Marion, Executive Director of Common Cause RI, Representative and Deputy Majority Leader Jason Knight, Ray Rickman, Executive Director of Stages of Freedom, and League & Delta member Rochelle Lee, who has considerable experience in city planning, affordable housing, and is an experienced public policy advocate and board member for a plethora of major organizations.
Kick-off Event Feb. 5, 2020
Nearly 75 people attended the Redraw RI kick-off event for a state constitutional amendment (S 2077 and H 7260) to create an independent redistricting commission. The hope is to draw fair legislative districts with data from the 2020 Census.
The kick-off event sponsored by Common Cause was held in the library at the State House and featured the sponsors of both bills as well as RI's Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea and Treasurer Seth Magaziner.
Jane Koster, president of the League of Women Voters of RI, said in her speech during the press conference, "As part of our People Powered Fair Maps initiative, the League of Women Voters is dedicated to the idea of an independent redistricting commission for Rhode Island. We have spent decades watchdogging the current process and believe now is the time for change."
The event also rolled out the new Redraw RI website, an interactive site that explores why the Ocean State needs an independent redistricting commission and gives a timeline for what needs to happen.
