DURHAM -- A daylong symposium at Duke Law School on Friday will take a wide-ranging look at legislative redistricting in America.
"Drawing Lines: The Future of Redistricting in America" is hosted by the student-run Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy and sponsored by the Program in Public Law and the American Constitution Society. The symposium will get underway at 9:30 a.m. in Room 3037 of Duke Law School, located at the corner of Science Drive and Towerview Road on Duke University's West Campus.
All panel sessions are free and open to the public. Parking is available at the Bryan Center.
With the 2010 Census in full swing, legislative redistricting is just around the corner. Lawmakers will redraw lines for a variety of reasons: to reflect the changes in population; to entrench political majorities; and to provide underrepresented minorities with a voice in state and federal governments.
"Among other things, the symposium will tackle the age-old question of whether it is possible to have redistricting in America without gerrymandering," said third-year law student Toby Coleman, editor in chief of the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy.
A series of roundtable discussions will focus on such topics as whether there is a way to design a redistricting process free of political influence; how computers are likely to be used in redistricting going forward; and the role and influence of race in redistricting. Panelists include election law scholars, political scientists, computer scientists, state officials, and good-government activists, and the director of the new documentary film, "Gerrymandering."
Professor Heather Gerken of Yale Law School, a leading expert on election law, voting rights, and diversity and democracy, will deliver the lunchtime keynote address.
A full symposium agenda and list of panelists can be found at www.law.duke.edu/journals/djclpp/index.php?action=showblurb&id=20.
