This (Thursday) evening, the Equality State Policy Center will host an online discussion with four experts in redistricting.

The roundtable discussion, “Redistricting: What it is and why it matters,” will take place from 5-6 p.m. via Zoom. The event is free and open to the public, and people can register online at https://secure.everyaction.com/yQMDBQrbFE-ZK42JVdcfQw2 to receive an invitation to participate live.

“The Equality State Policy Center’s mission focuses on transparent government, fair elections, and thriving communities. Redistricting really encompasses all three — and is so important for the future of our state,” said ESPC Civic Engagement Coordinator Anastasia Marchese. 

Panelists for this discussion include Joint Corporations Committee Co-Chairman Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne; House Minority Caucus Chairman Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson; Marguerite Herman from the Wyoming League of Women Voters; and Ben Williams, a redistricting expert from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

“If you are not already interested in redistricting, you should be,” said Rep. Yin. “Redistricting will affect all levels of Wyoming government for the next decade,” added Zwonitzer. “All citizens should be paying attention.”

Redistricting takes place across the United States every 10 years using information from the most recently concluded Census. In Wyoming, the Legislature leads the redistricting process to draw new boundary lines for each House and Senate district in the state. Constitutionally, each district must contain roughly the same amount of people and the districts cannot discriminate based on race or ethnicity.

The Joint Corporations Committee spent Monday discussing the basics of redistricting, guiding principles for the process and a demonstration about how the technology works. They also talked about recently released Census data that will guide the process. Those figures show that rural areas in Wyoming lost population and places like Laramie, Teton, and Sheridan counties gained population.

Thursday’s People’s Review: Live! offers an opportunity to review the basics of redistricting and dig into some of the important questions raised in the corporations meeting.

“Redistricting can seem complicated — or maybe isn’t even on people’s minds as being important,” said Marchese, but Thursday’s event “is a great reminder of what’s at stake, why it matters, and how people can get involved.”