NCSL Redistricting Seminar: Salt Lake City, Utah, July 14-16, 2021

6/22/2021

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Salt Lake City will host the last installment of NCSL’s Get Ready to Redistrict: Seminars for Practitioners and Others.

If you are a legislator, legislative staffer, commissioner, commission staffer, an outside advocate or just an interested member of the public, these seminars are for you.

In two days, NCSL will deliver knowledge and practical instruction that you can customize for your state and your role in the process. If you’ve come to an earlier seminar, expect to:

Focus on practicalities—anything you need to know to get the job done
A chance to visit with your vendors to ensure that you know what your state’s capabilities are
We’ll review what going to court entails (because almost all states will be in court!)
The census is the hottest question in town, and we’ll have answers

If you’ve never come to a seminar:

It’s not too late to learn—and this is your chance
Because redistricting is complex, it’s probably easier to learn in person than from a book (but the red book is good too 😊)

You can meet the experts who you might want to bring to your state (I was going to say consult, but some are free and some are not—but all faculty will make themselves available)

Registration

Registration Information

Registration fees are:
Legislators and legislative staff: $450
Foundation members: $500
Others: $580
Spouse/guest: $100

Ways to register:

Online Registration
Requires a credit card for everyone except legislators and legislative staff. Confirmations will be sent by email.

On-Site Registration
If you can’t make the registration cutoff, on-site registration will be available at the venue beginning July 14, 2021.

Spouse/Guest Registration: The $100 guest fee includes all scheduled meal functions and evening social events.

Cancellations received in the NCSL Denver office by July 12, 2021, will be refunded minus a $50 processing fee. Cancellations must be made in writing and faxed to 303-364-7811 or emailed to registration@ncsl.org. Fees cannot be refunded for registrations cancelled after the conference begins.

Hotel Information

Attendees are responsible for making their hotel arrangements. The NCSL room block at the conference hotel Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek (75 S.W. Temple, Salt Lake City, UT, 84101, 801-531-0800), is sold out. We are working on securing additional rooms at a nearby hotel. More details will be posted when the overflow hotel is available for booking.

Travel Information

Attendees are responsible for making their own travel arrangements.

Salt Lake City is served by the Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and has more than 370 flights departing daily to 99 nonstop destinations. The airport is located 5 miles northwest of downtown Salt Lake City and arriving travelers can take a 20-minute ride on TRAX light rail to City Center. Taxis, Uber and Lyft are all available as well.

Special Needs
To ensure full participation and accessibility for all meeting attendees, please call 303-856-1508 with any special accommodations you may require.

City Information
Visit Salt Lake Visitors Center for ideas on what to do and see in the capital of the Beehive State and beyond. Explore and enjoy the rich selection of museums and cultural attractions or just enjoy the spectacular outdoor spaces.

Wednesday, July 14

2-3:30 p.m.: OPTIONAL: Redistricting Basics

If this is your first redistricting cycle, join us for this session. Experienced legislative staff will provide a foundation on redistricting based on NCSL’s Redistricting Starter Kit.

3:45-5 p.m.: OPTIONAL: Race and Redistricting: Civil Rights Groups Speak

French fries and ketchup. Sunscreen and the beach. Redistricting and lawsuits. Three classic pairings. Hear from groups that represent minority communities in the U.S. on what they’re focused on this decade when it comes to redistricting. Who knows—maybe what we learn will forestall a lawsuit or two.

5-7 p.m.: Welcome Reception

Thursday, July 15

6:45 a.m.: OPTIONAL: Morning Run

Studies show exercise improves brain functionality. This run, though, is all about going slow and being social.

7:30-8:45 a.m.: Breakfast and Welcome

Eat first, then at 8:15, we’ll welcome everyone, review what’s coming and begin to meet everyone.

9-10:15 a.m.: The Census

Option A: Census and Data for Beginners

Are you a non-data expert working on redistricting? This session is for you. Learn what data the census will release, a bit about how it can be used and an introduction to other types of data used in redistricting so you and your data colleagues can communicate effectively with each other about the task at hand.

Option B: Census and Data for Experts

In this advanced session, we’ll cover differential privacy (and if it makes a difference), working with race and ethnicity data, how election turnout impacts the accuracy of political data, and the use of party registration as a data layer. Warning: nerding out likely.

10:30-11:45 a.m.: Take Your Pick

Option A: Meeting With Your Redistricting Software Experts

Your state has probably chosen its redistricting software by now. Here’s your chance to meet your software vendor, discuss its features and pick up tips. These sessions will be run by the vendors themselves, not by NCSL.

Option B: Short Takes on Three Key Issues

Gain insight into three issues that are easy to overlook: local redistricting (yes, it’s required by law, too); the “handoff” of redistricting data to election officials so they can prepare for next year’s primaries; and why some states are adopting prisoner reallocation laws.

Noon-12:45 p.m.: Picnic Lunch

1-2:15 p.m.: Balancing Conflicting Criteria

Criteria (or principles) are the rules of the road in redistricting, and they vary by state. Sometimes, though, they pull in opposite directions and it’s hard to comply with them all. Hear veterans of the redistricting process explain how to strike a balance between potentially irreconcilable mandates.

2:30-3:45 p.m.: Redistricting Litigation in the 2020s

Redistricting litigation for the 2010 cycle didn’t end until 2019. Will the coming cycle be just as intense? Hear nationally recognized litigators discuss the current state of the law, new trends to watch in the 2020s, and possibly make predictions for the future.

4-5:15 p.m.: Threading the Needle: The Voting Rights Act and Racial Gerrymandering

Two federal requirements governing redistricting involve race. The Voting Rights Act directs states to ensure that certain minority groups have the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice, whereas the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment prohibits race from predominating during redistricting decision-making. Confusing, right? Listen as two expert litigators parse the nuances created by the U.S. Supreme Court and how states can walk the legal compliance line.

5:30-6:30 p.m.: Connecting With Your Peers

Option A: Republicans

This is an ancillary session run by Republicans, for Republicans. For more information, contact Kylie Bongaart.

Note: This is not an NCSL-sponsored session.

Option B: Democrats

This is an ancillary session run by Democrats, for Democrats. For more information, contact Jeff Wice.

Note: This is not an NCSL-sponsored session.

Option C: Nonpartisan Staff

If you’re a legislative staffer and don’t belong at the partisan sessions, get to know your colleagues from around the nation.

7-9 p.m.: Dinner

Friday, July 16

7 a.m.: OPTIONAL: Walking Tour

See the sites with a local guide (and key staffer in the Utah Senate).

7:30-8:45 a.m.: Breakfast and Ask Us Anything

Eat first, then at 8, faculty will be prepared to answer anything that’s on your mind.

8-9:15 a.m.: Getting Along

Option A: Lowering the Temperature When Legislatures Redistrict

If you read the press, redistricting boils down to just one thing: power. Is that really true? Bring your breakfast to hear from legislators who have threaded their way through the trials and tribulations of legislative infighting.

Option B: Working With Your Commission

In states where commissions have primary responsibility for redistricting, what’s the legislature’s role? Bring your breakfast and hear from former commissioners and legislators who worked with commissions to find out how colleagues in prior decades stayed engaged while respecting the legal division between line-drawers and policymakers.

9:30-10:45 a.m.: Unseen Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

You don’t know what you don’t know. Fortunately, there are people who have done redistricting who DO know what you don’t know. Attend this session to learn from attorneys the pitfalls that can trip up the best-planned redistricting process—so you can avoid their mistakes.

11 a.m.-Noon: Legislative Privilege and Transparency

Legislative privilege is a critical part of the lawmaking process. Without it, policymakers wouldn’t be free to ask candid questions and talk openly with their staff. And yet, in this cycle “transparency” is being heralded. Learn the nuances of this area of the law so you can better understand what will happen when you end up in court over redistricting.

12:15-1:30 p.m.: What Court Will Look Like (and Box Lunch)

Odds are, you’ll be sued over redistricting. What will that lawsuit look like? This panel of litigants, judges and experts will walk you through the life of a redistricting lawsuit so you have an idea of what may happen if your maps end up in court.

1:30-2 p.m.: Ask Us Anything

Faculty will answer anything anyone cares to ask so you leave the Beehive State with exactly the information you need for the redistricting work about to begin.