Developing a Community Engagement Model for the Redistricting Process

The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) is a national organization that promotes equity, opportunity, and a robust democracy by partnering with grassroots organizations to build community power and transform the state and local policy landscape. The Voting Rights and Democracy Program at CPD seeks to expand participation in democracy by defending democratic infrastructure and driving proactive changes such as redistricting reform. As part of that reform, CPD believes in the need for community engagement to ensure that congressional, state, and local districts fairly represent communities. CPD enlisted a Capstone team to conduct an analysis and review of redistricting efforts in 2011 in Minnesota and Virginia—two states that have experimented with efforts to involve individuals and communities in the process. Through research and stakeholder interviews, the team identified lessons learned and developed best practices to create a model for engaging communities in the redistricting process.