Vermont is currently in the process of redrawing its state legislative district boundaries. It is important that Vermonters are aware of this process and understand that the district boundaries that are drawn will be in place for the next 10 years.
The Middlebury College Geography Department is working with the American Association of Geographers to host a free and public redistricting panel event on Oct. 1, at 3:30 p.m. at the Robert A. Jones House at 148 Hillcrest Road on the Middlebury College campus. All Vermonters are encouraged to attend, in person or via Zoom, to learn how they can be involved with this process.
Speakers on Vermont's redistricting panel include:
• Tom Little (Cornell University), Chair of the Vermont Legislative Apportionment Board (LAB) and former member of the Vermont House of Representatives, will share his expertise about the state legislative redistricting process. Little will speak about Vermont's redistricting history to contextualize the challenges the LAB is facing during this redistricting cycle.
• Tom Hughes (American University), Senior Strategist at Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) and former executive director of Democracy for America, will amplify the needs of local Vermonters and speak about the role that VPIRG plays in bridging community needs with state legislators.
• Bertram Johnson (Harvard University), Professor of Political Science at Middlebury College, will talk about redistricting at the national scale and explain why the founding fathers created a governance system based on geographic representation in the first place.
• Chris Gernon (Middlebury College), a specialist in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), will speak about how advancements in mapping technology have made community participation in the redistricting process more accessible now than ever before.
• James Tedesco (University of Vermont), a community organizer/activist from Greensboro, VT., will speak about the importance of getting young people involved.
After the panel's presentations, college students and public attendees over Zoom will be able to directly engage with panel experts in an open Q&A session.
Due to the increasing prevalence of Covid-19 in Vermont, this panel will be hosted on the AAG's Zoom platform. It is also open to in-person participation for those individuals who are fully vaccinated. All who come must wear a mask on campus and at all times inside. To participate in the free event, please register for the Zoom presentation or in-person at https://aag-redistrictingpanels.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/31/sessiongallery/2544.
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