Thursday, November 11
London, United Kingdom
Help end prison gerrymandering!
As states across the US get ready to review their maps and plans for redistricting, advocates against prison gerrymandering are hoping to seize this rare opportunity to put an end to the unjust and discriminatory practice of prison gerrymandering. Please join us for a timely discussion on the issues as we are joined by Mario Jimenez of Common Cause, NM and Samantha Osaki of ACLU, NY to hear about the work they are doing in New Mexico and how we can support their efforts there and in the other many states across the country.
The event is hosted by the Voting Rights and Democracy Group of the DAUK Policy Network and the DAUK Black Caucus.
Speaker biographies:
Samantha Tañafranca Osaki is an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the ACLU Voting Rights Project, sponsored by the Lavan-Harris Family to support efforts across the nation to end the practice of prison-based malapportionment.
Samantha has an active docket protecting voting rights, combatting voter suppression and criminalization, and ensuring that enacted district maps are fair. She has recently been involved in cases fighting to ensure that lawfully cast votes are counted (Trump v. Boockvar, Hotze v. Hollins) and supported her team in the Supreme Court case defeating the Trump Administration’s unlawful attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census (Department of Commerce v. New York). Current cases she is working on include Luft v. Evers (challenging Wisconsin’s ID Petition Process as unconstitutionally onerous) and Texas v. Crystal Mason (defending Ms. Mason in her appeal of her sentence for allegedly improperly casting a provisional ballot), among others.
Before joining the ACLU, Samantha was a Fulbright Scholar based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and worked at LIFT, a nonprofit providing holistic family and financial coaching services. She received her J.D. from NYU School of Law, and her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. After her fellowship, she will clerk for the Honorable Harry T. Edwards of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
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Mario Jimenez III, CCNM Campaigns Director
Mario Jimenez III has nearly 17 years of experience working in elections in New Mexico ranging from small local water districts, to school board, local government, and statewide elections. Mario joined Common Cause in January of 2020. Prior to joining Common Cause as the Campaign Director, he served as the registered lobbyist for the NM County Clerk’s Affiliate where he represented all 33 of New Mexico’s county clerks.
He also worked in the Doña Ana County county clerk’s office as Chief Deputy County Clerk. And while serving two terms as president of the County Clerk’s Affiliate, Mario spearheaded good government democracy legislation, including implementing voting convenience centers across Doña Ana County.
Mario is also a former member of the Voting Systems Certification Committee in New Mexico. While serving as a VSCC appointee he successfully advocated for the state to implement the use of more efficient, voter friendly, technology advanced, and ADA compliant voting machines which are still in use today.
During Mario’s time with the county clerk’s office, he obtained his Public Official Certification from New Mexico State University through its County College program. Upon receiving his certification Mario worked with NMSU County College program officials where he helped develop curriculum and provided instruction to fellow county clerks and their staff as an instructor for the County College program.
WHEN
Thursday, November 11, 2021 at 05:30 PM London Time
CONTACT
DAUK Policy Network and DAUK Black Caucus