[EL] DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 3/22: Common Cause "Gerrymander Standard" Contest

[Dan Vicuna]

We are encouraging approaches from many disciplines (mathematics, political science, sociology, etc.), so please don’t feel like you need to be from a law background to tackle this important topic. I wanted to get that message out to the whole list, but I’d be happy to take any other questions you or anybody else has off-list.

Dan Vicuna
National Redistricting Coordinator
Common Cause
Cell: (571) 218-6135
Twitter: @DanVicuna<https://twitter.com/danvicuna>
www.commoncause.org/redistricting<http://www.commoncause.org/redistricting>



From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Thomas J. Cares
Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2015 5:45 PM
To: Election Law
Subject: Re: [EL] DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 3/22: Common Cause "Gerrymander Standard" Contest

Maybe i'm more of a policy guy than a law guy and perhaps should not really contemplate attempting this, but I would think:

Anything that forfeits compactness, and also has a result that increases packing, and also where the voters of the district's largest party outnumbers that of the 2nd largest party by more than 10% of *all* registered voters, should not be allowed to make that forfeiture of compactness for said packing purposes.

Is that any good, or possibly a good start?

On Wed, Mar 4, 2015 at 4:01 PM, Dan Vicuna <DVicuna at commoncause.org<mailto:DVicuna at commoncause.org>> wrote:
Due to recent interest as a result of the Arizona redistricting case in the U.S. Supreme Court, Common Cause has decided to extend the deadline for our “Gerrymander Standard” writing competition<http://www.commoncause.org/gerrymanderstandard>. The new deadline is Sunday, March 22. Submission details are below.

Dan Vicuna
National Redistricting Coordinator
Common Cause
Cell: (571) 218-6135<tel:%28571%29%20218-6135>
Twitter: @DanVicuna<https://twitter.com/danvicuna>
www.commoncause.org/redistricting<http://www.commoncause.org/redistricting>




“Gerrymander Standard” Writing Competition Submission Requirements



Overview/Theme: Common Cause welcomes all papers creating a new definition for partisan gerrymandering or further developing an existing definition. Practitioners, scholars, and students from a wide variety of academic disciplines are encouraged to submit papers. The judging committee will include leading academics in the democracy field. Authors of the top three papers will receive a cash prize and an offer of publication in Election Law Journal. The deadline is Sunday, March 22, 2015.



Submission Requirements:

Deadline: Submissions must be emailed to contest at commoncause.org<mailto:contest at commoncause.org> by Sunday, March 22. Papers sent after this date will not be considered.



Eligibility: Any individual may submit a paper. Submissions are not restricted by student status or academic discipline.



Content: Papers will be judged on their effective definition and analysis of partisan gerrymandering. Please do not put your name or other identifying information anywhere in your paper. List your name, phone number, and address only in the body of your cover email.



Format: Submissions must be original unpublished academic works. The length must be between 25 and 50 pages, including footnotes. The text of the paper must be in double-spaced 12-point Courier New font with 1-inch margins. Footnotes may be in single-spaced 10-point font.



Judging Process: All submissions will go through an initial screening process among Common Cause legal staff. The finalists from that process will then be reviewed by a panel of judges made up of election law experts. This panel will select the top three papers among the finalists. Submissions will be judged on their depth of legal analysis, quality of writing, readiness for publication, originality, thoroughness of research, relevance to the development of a new standard for partisan gerrymandering, and discussion of conclusions and future impact. The winners will be announced in May 2015.



Award: The author(s) of the top submission will receive $5,000, 2nd place will receive $3,000, and 3rd place will receive $2,000. If more than one author submits a winning paper, prize money will be divided between them. All will be eligible for publication in Election Law Journal. Common Cause will cover travel expenses for up to two authors per paper to travel to Washington, DC to present their papers.



Entry Fee: There is no entry fee.



Previous Publication/Use: No paper previously published will be considered. However, papers currently being considered for publication, papers related to research done by the author(s) and/or submitted to fulfill a course requirement or law journal credit requirements may be submitted. Submissions should not yet have undergone significant editing by journal editors or others. If a paper is currently being considered for publication, the author(s) should consult the editors of the alternative journal to make sure that entry in this competition will not interfere with his/her opportunity for publication in that journal.



Additional Questions: Check www.commoncause.org/gerrymanderstandard<http://www.commoncause.org/gerrymanderstandard> for updates or email contest at commoncause.org<mailto:contest at commoncause.org> with questions.





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