Weigh In on Legislative Redistricting: Interview with Tom Little of the Vermont Apportionment Board

Description

Tom Little, Special Master of the Vermont Apportionment Board, explains why Legislative Redistricting is important and how the public can influence the distribution of House and Senate candidates and districts across Vermont.

With the delay of the 2020 U.S. Census data, the Apportionment Board must work fast to develop legislative district maps for local leaders to respond to and submit final recommendations to the Legislature for approval in early 2022.

The public is asked to weigh in on key questions:

- What is more important: making sure the populations in each district are as close to equal as possible, or allowing larger (within constitutional guidelines) differences in populations to maintain district lines closer to the status quo?

- Should your legislative district lines conform to town and/ or county boundary lines?

- Do you prefer single member house districts (one representative per a House district of around 4,300) or two member districts (two representatives in a single house district of around 8,600 people)?

- Do you prefer single member senate districts (one senator per senate district of around 21,500 people), or multi-member senate districts (two or three senators in a single district of around 43,000 or 64,500 people)?

Let the Legislative Apportionment Board know your views on these questions and on other factors you wish them to consider as they draw up proposed legislative district lines by emailing Board members at their addresses posted on the Board’s website (sos.vermont.gov/apportionment-board/contact-the-board), participating in monthly online meetings (sos.vermont.gov/apportionment-board), or mailing a letter c/o the Secretary of State’s office (Legislative Apportionment Board, 128 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05633-1101).

This is a critical exercise in our representative democracy. It happens only every 10 years – don’t miss out on it!

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