Webinar: The Fight for Democracy Continues During a Pandemic

With COVID-19 disrupting the United States, we must all continue the fight to strengthen and protect democracy. The USC California Civic Engagement Project and the USC Schwarzenegger Institute is pleased to invite you to a special extended USC Price Talk via Zoom where panelist will discuss the following topics:

• Efforts and challenges around vote-by-mail and voter access at the polls

• Attempts to delay the Census and redistricting by the Trump administration and implications this has for 2021 redistricting efforts across the country

• California's efforts around the 2020 elections during COVID-19

• Common Cause's efforts around voting rights and election reforms going forward

Please RSVP by April 21

Presented by: The USC California Civic Engagement Project and the USC Schwarzenegger Institute

Panelists

Alex Padilla, California Secretary of State

Alex Padilla is the California Secretary of State. He is focused on modernizing the office, increasing voter registration and participation, and strengthening voting rights. He sponsored legislation in 2015 to establish vote centers, expand early voting, and implement same-day conditional voter registration through the Voter's Choice Act. In 2018, he launched the California Motor Voter program, which automatically registers eligible Californians to vote when they obtain or renew their state ID or driver's license. The program registered one million new voters in its first year alone. Secretary Padilla oversaw the state's historic General Election in 2018 where 64.5 percent of registered voters cast a ballot. This represented the highest turnout for a Gubernatorial Election since 1982. In February of 2020, California reached a record of more than 20.6 million registered voters. Previously, he served two terms in the San Fernando Valley in the California State Senate and represented the east San Fernando Valley on the Los Angeles City Council. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley, attended local public schools, and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Karen Hobert Flynn, President of Common Cause

Karen Hobert Flynn is president of Common Cause. Karen is an effective strategist who knows how to win reforms at all levels of government, strengthening the people's voice in our democracy. In a time of hyper-polarization and the obstruction of progress on important legislation in Congress, Karen is a clear nonpartisan voice for democracy, unafraid of taking on those who hold power and reminding politicians they work for the people and serve in the public interest. Her roots at Common Cause date back more than 25 years and she is the organization's tenth president. Since becoming president of Common Cause in June 2016, Karen has twice been named one of the Top 50 Lobbyists in Congress by The Hill Newspaper. In just the first two years of Karen's presidency, Common Cause's doubled to more than 1.2 million supporters who live in every congressional district. Karen is advancing Common Cause's vision for a more inclusive, representative, and truly reflective democracy, as Common Cause wins numerous key legal, ballot, and legislative victories at the state level on redistricting, campaign finance, and voting rights.

Mindy Romero, Ph.D., Director, USC Price School's California Civic Engagement Project

Mindy Romero is the founder and director of the California Civic Engagement Project (CCEP) at the University of Southern California's Sol Price School of Public Policy, in Sacramento. Romero is a political sociologist and holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on political behavior and race/ethnicity, and seeks to explain patterns of voting and political underrepresentation, particularly among youth and communities of color in California and the U.S. Dr. Romero has been invited to speak about civic engagement and political rights in numerous venues, testifying before the National Commission on Voting Rights and the California Legislature, among others. Her research has been cited in major news outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, Politico, and the Huffington Post. She has also been a frequent guest on National Public Radio, Capital Public Radio, and several other NPR-affiliated stations in California.

Christian Grose, Ph.D., Academic Director, USC Schwarzenegger Institute

Christian Grose is the academic director of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy at the Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California, and received his Ph.D. in political science. He is the author of more than 30 articles and chapters about American politics, redistricting, and political representation; including in the American Journal of Political Science and the Journal of Politics. His book Congress in Black and White (Cambridge University Press) explains how racial redistricting shapes congressional decision-making and won the best book on race and politics award from the American Political Science Association. Grose directs USC's Fair Maps and Political Reform Lab, where researchers, students, and policy practitioners work together to generate new ideas to reform American democracy. He is also an expert in political reforms and voting rights in California, including the top-two primary and the independent redistricting commission; and has served as an expert witness in redistricting cases.

Call in information will be provided after registration