This week, Natasha Korgaonkar, Assistant Counsel with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) testified at a redistricting hearing before New York’s Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR).

By Dale Ho and Peter Wagner via the LA Daily News
Prison-based gerrymandering is no trivial matter. There are more than 2 million incarcerated people in America, a total population larger than that of 15 individual states, and larger than our three smallest states combined. If they were a state, the incarcerated population would qualify for five votes in the Electoral College. Where they are counted has tremendous implications for the shape of our democracy.

Prison-based gerrymandering distorts the meaning and reality of democracy and undermines efforts to build fairness into the current redistricting process.

Monday, May 16, 2011 By: Lou Gehrig Burnett Source: Bayoubuzz News The redistricting plan adopted by the Legislature  for its state House districts has gained national attention – and not in a good way. A broad coalition is urging the U.S. Justice Department to reject the plan, calling it discriminatory. The NAACP Legal Defense & [...]

Monday, May 16, 2011 By: Celeste Katz Source: NY Daily News Thousands of New York prisoners are being set free – from being counted in upstate Republicans’ state Senate districts. Under the federal Voting Rights Act, the Department of Justice has just approved counting inmates in their hometowns – not where they’re locked up – [...]

By Kristen Clarke
Encouraging greater levels of community participation in the process and advocating for compliance with the Voting Rights Act can help ensure that this redistricting cycle produces maps that provide minority voters with equal access to the political process.

This week the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) presented oral argument in Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, a case challenging a core provision of the Voting Rights Act known as Section 5. The provision requires jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to have voting changes reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to ensure that they are nondiscriminatory.

By Kristen Clarke
As part of its commitment to bringing African Americans and other communities of color into the redistricting process, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) has launched the public education program, “Redrawing the Lines,” with resource and training materials available to community members, activists and policy makers.

The changing face of America raises important questions, especially in electoral politics. Are minorities fairly represented at all levels of politics? Do we have an equal voice, and an equal opportunity to elect representatives who consider our needs and interests?