Michael McDonald, associate professor of government and politics at George Mason University, unveiled his new report, “Midwest Mapping Project,” at last Thursday’s “Redrawing the Boundaries: A Midwest Redistricting Discussion” forum.

Sponsored by George Mason University, the Brennan Center and the Midwest Democracy Network, the forum brought heads of Midwest nonprofits together to discuss current issues involving redistricting.

The report investigated the effects of four criteria on congressional and state legislative districts that may be produced in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. According to McDonald, the criteria are districts are drawn to look like squares on a grid, districts are drawn as compact as possible, they are drawn to respect county boundaries and they respect census place boundaries.

Justin Levitt, counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice, also spoke about the effects of redistricting and what influences the process.

One aspect Levitt delved into what how prisoners are counted as residents of the town they are imprisoned at when counted in a census. This brought several ethical questions forward, such as how many of the inmates counted are released before the next 10-year census and how do they affect the redistricting process?

Senate Counsel and Minn. Secretary of State Peter Wattson, University of Wisconsin professor and member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Redistricting Taskforce Ken Mayer and former Illinois House of Representatives member Bill O’Connor also spoke at a panel discussing their experiences in the redistricting process.

All agreed that the redistricting process is currently inherently political. Leaders achieve power by controlling districts, and new legislative members are chosen by their ability to get along with present leaders, not by their ability to represent their constituents.

The panel also discussed the ethical question of whether it is better for districts to be heavily competitive to ensure legislators do not control their seats for extended periods of time versus districts drawn to benefit one specific party so one large population benefits from legislation.

“If districts are competitive, only half (of residents) are being represented,” Wattson pointed out.

Catherine Turcer and Illinois State Rep. Mike Fortner. 

Justin Levitt, counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice, delivers his speech on redistricting.

From left: Thomasina Williams, Rich Robinson, Justin Levitt

From left: Dave Winters

From left: Phil Leutkehans, Michael McDonald and Mike Fortner