NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennesseans historically have had few opportunities for public participation in the redistricting process, and this year, some advocacy groups are working to change that.

Shanna Singh Hughey, president of the nonpartisan think tank ThinkTennessee, said in past once-in-a-decade cycles, residents have mostly submitted draft maps or shared their opinions with their legislators. But in the previous cycle, she said, only four draft maps were submitted.

"One extremely important opportunity for the public is the ability to submit their input and draft maps," Hughey contended.

Hughey believes lawmakers should maintain websites that serve as one-stop shops for redistricting information. She also thinks they should actively share this information with constituents, the same way they do with voter registration drives or town hall meetings, in newsletters and on websites and social media.

Matia Powell, executive director of the nonprofit CivicTN, said she's working across the state to educate voters and organizations about map drawing.

"And then getting input from them on those communities of interest," Powell explained. "What parts of your community should be held together when we're thinking about these district maps? How do you want to be represented and have that collective voice?"

Michelle Davis, publisher and executive editor of the website RedistrictingOnline.org, said nationwide, the biggest issue is the postponement of complete census data.

"And the delay in the redistricting data comes from a couple of things; most of it is COVID," Davis observed. "This is going to be about four months' delay."

Full census data is expected to be delivered to Tennessee lawmakers by Sep. 30.

A number of lawsuits have been filed in opposition to President Donald Trump's executive order which could reshape how U.S. elections are run and the League of Women Voters of Arizona is one of the groups fighting back.

Pinny Sheoran, president of the group, said democracy is not just on the line, it is actively being broken. Trump's executive order would usher in new requirements, such as having voters provide in-person documentary proof of citizenship and identity. Sheoran called the president's action unconstitutional and illegal.

"Even the states serving as a buttress against the breaking of democracy is greatly under threat, in Arizona, specifically," Sheoran stated.

The White House has defended the president's executive order and called the measures "common sense," and all objections "insane." But Sheoran contends the executive order will suppress voters and enact "unnecessary hoops," making it harder for Arizonans to make their voices heard.

Sheoran argued the directive from the White House will disproportionately affect Arizonans across the board, including people of color, those in rural communities, those with disabilities and women.

She pointed out more than 1.5 million women in the state have changed their last name after marriage, which means many will not have a birth certificate matching their legal identity. Nationwide, the issue grows exponentially.

"For those 61-plus million women, we are talking about many of them, (a) not having a passport; (b) having to now prove why their ID has got a different name than the ID that they registered in," Sheoran outlined.

Sheoran stressed the importance of highlighting the narrative of how the "disastrous" order will affect everyday Arizonans.

"What makes sense to the general public, to the women who don't watch Fox News or MSNBC, is, 'Oh, I can't vote with my voter ID?' 'What, I've been voting, I am 70 years old, I've been voting for almost 50 years, and now you're telling me I can't vote?'" Sheoran underscored. "Think about those conversations."

Pro-worker and pro-democracy organizers and activists in Nevada are coming together to oppose some of the policies of President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the current administration.

The Hands Off! protest set for Saturday in Carson City is one of more than 1,000 taking place around the country.

Kimberly Carden, a leader of Indivisible Northern Nevada, said the national protest will be the largest single day of action since Trump took office for a second term. Carden said they'll be advocating for strengthening programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and they'll demand an end to federal worker layoffs and attacks on immigrants and transgender people.

"We aren't scared, we aren't going to be intimidated, and this is a big movement," she said, "and it's going to help our elected representatives buck up and fight back."

Carden said it's all about calling out attacks on democratic principles that affect everyone, regardless of political values and beliefs. The protest comes after an eventful week in the nation's capital - including enacting a range of tariffs on goods from foreign countries that are expected to increase prices.

A new survey finds Trump's approval rating has fallen to its lowest point so far.

The "Hands Off" event starts at noon outside the Legislative Building.

Lois Stokes, a member of the group Bans Off Our Bodies, said she's astonished by the number of people now unemployed because of federal mass firings. As a former statistician with the state who worked on employment and wage data, Stokes said she thinks the situation is particularly dire in Nevada.

"Getting rid of the federal maintenance workers that handle these old buildings - and well, even the new ones," she said. "The people that are monitoring our water quality, they've been fired. Who's looking out for those interests?"

Stokes said she hopes this weekend's event serves to remind folks they have a voice and power.

"For too long, we've let things like this slide," she said, "or, 'Oh well, that's too bad - maybe next time, you know, we'll vote someone in' - and I am really hoping it's a wake-up call."


get more stories like this via email

Some Colorado lawmakers are scrambling to protect voter rights after President Donald Trump issued an executive order to require proof of citizenship to register to vote. They say the requirement would disproportionately affect low-income voters and people of color.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said the language in the U.S. Constitution is very clear that the authority to run elections is delegated to individual states.

"Everyone - Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative - wants to keep ineligible voters off the list. And there's always some value in discussing how to do it better," he explained. "Unfortunately that's not what this executive order does. It's really a remarkable seizure of power from the states."

Trump has cast doubt on the integrity of American elections for years, despite evidence that fraud is extremely rare. The new order claims the nation has failed "to enforce basic and necessary election protections," and would allow the Department of Homeland Security and 'DOGE' to access state voter rolls. Colorado Senate Bill 1 - which would bar voter discrimination based on race, sexual orientation or gender identity - has cleared the state Senate and now moves to the House.

Becker noted that Congress does have constitutional authority to change election rules, and did so most notably after passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. And in 2021, he says House Democrats passed a sweeping set of election reforms that ended up dying in the Senate.

"But at least that was done through congressional action. What we have here is an executive power grab - an attempt by the President of the United States to dictate to states how they run elections, how they should exercise the power that is granted to them by the Constitution," he continued.

Becker noted the new order suggests serious misunderstandings, intentional or not, about the nation's election system, which he says is secure. It's already illegal for non-U.S. citizens to vote, and voter lists are as accurate as they've ever been. More than 95% of all U.S. voters use paper ballots, which are available in all states, and ballots are audited to confirm results.


get more stories like this via email