With the 2022 midterm elections just a few days away, control of the US House and Senate remains up for grabs.

It now comes down to which candidates are best able to turn out voters.

The 2020 election saw the highest voter turnout in American history.

Will their turnout this year set a new high for a midterm election?

Hello, I'm Abigail Hammel.

And I'm Jose Munoz.

Welcome to Shifting Democracy.

This is the third of four episode series produced by Lafayette College students.

The policy Studies Program and PBS 39.

This series takes a hard look at the issues, the candidates and the democratic process from the point of view of Lafayette students.

This episode looks further into factors and organizations that are influencing the races, all from the perspective of Lafayette students, many of whom will be voting for the first time in 2022.

Shifting democracy is made possible by generous gifts from two Lafayette alumni, Bruce McGinn and Christopher Kane.

And with the support of Lafayette's Gladstone T Whitman 49 Fund, we have a lot to cover.

So Jose, please introduce our first segment.

Thanks, Abby.

It's an often misunderstood and backroom element of representative government in America redistricting, the redesign of federal and state legislative boundaries every ten years.

In theory, the purpose is to preserve the principle of one person, one vote.

In practice, it's become a tool for mischief and mapmaking.

Student producer Alexa Sadowski has this report.

Some people say today the voters no longer choose their representatives.

The representatives choose their voters through the redistricting process.

Redistricting occurs every ten years after the United States Census.

That's mandated in the Constitution.

So we can apportion seats in the House of Representatives among the states.

So the Constitution assigns that responsibility to the state legislature.

And so the state legislature, both houses, have to act and agree on a new map that is treated in every state now as though it's passing a law.

Is it usually the legislature that draws these boundaries or are there any other organizations involved?

Well, in some states you have a citizen commission or an independent commission that is authorized to draw all the boundary lines for redistricting.

But won't that be biased toward self survival for the legislatures?

Well, usually is.

But gerrymandering has been going on since the beginning of the Republic.

It's only become worse in the last 20 to 30 years because of all the data that we now have on voters that allows the legislature to draw infinitely different kinds of districts in order to accommodate party preferences.

So it's kind of gerrymandered during on steroids.

Both parties do it, and both parties will draw these maps in ways that benefit the majority party in the legislature.

So that's quite common.

I'm going to show you.

Two districts and you can tell me you think they're real districts or they're fake districts.

All right.

What do you think about this one?

Fake.

It is actually real.

What about this district?

Real fake.

Do you think this is a real district or a fake district?

Real.

That is correct.

It is real.

All right.

What about this one?

Real.

That is fake.

What about this one?

Fake.

Real?

That's a fake.

The design of a congressional district is essential in the in terms of its effects on ultimate winners and losers.

And in American politics, how we design and how we draw those lines has a significant impact on who controls government.

So what is your perception of the public's interest and and thoughts on gerrymandering generally?

Over time, people have come to recognize, I think, to a much greater degree, that how these things are being shaped is going to influence their voice.

What do you think about gerrymandering?

Do you do you think that it decreases the level of representativeness of our legislative branches?

Yeah, I think it's a contributing factor.

Competition is great in lots of places.

Economic systems, sports, also in political systems.

Having when there are ideas, views put to the test in elections, I think it serves the broader interest.

Gerrymandering in many cases erodes natural competition.

Pennsylvania is a state where, by its design, you should have lots of congressional districts that are competitive.

There are regions, including the Lehigh Valley, where we sit today that I think are natural competitive.

So historically, or at least in the last 25 years before some of the recent redistricting we've taken that natural competition out with tortured lines.

And I think that's a terrible thing.

I think it loses the system loses the competition that would otherwise help the overall quality of candidates, their responsiveness to the public.

If you want to be responsive that we want elected officials to be responsive, you have to put them to the test regularly.

And the House is designed every two years by our founders to have representatives come back and face the test.

So what do you think about the sort of pivot that both Pennsylvania and states more generally have been a part of, of of changing from commissions within legislatures to independent commissions to decide redistricting lines.

The ability to bring in individuals that analyze the districts not completely through a partizan lens, that that's not the overriding factor.

It could be a factor, right?

It's part of American politics.

But having other factors more fully embraced in the process, you know, really compact districts, having those represent regions like the Lehigh Valley is a natural congressional district.

When it was ripped apart for years, I said it's just it makes no kind of reasonable sense for the voices of the valley to be disrupted that way.

And so finding processes that recognize those things, elevate those in the decision process, I think are key.

So this first district, what do you think?

Is it a real district or a fake one?

Fake.

It is actually real.

Okay.

What about this one?

Real or fake?

Real fake.

So this one.

What do you think.

On with no real basis for my guess, I would say maybe real.

Got to is real.

What about this one?

Do you think this looks real or fake?

This look real.

But I'm kind of skeptical.

It is actually real.

Do you think it's a real district or a fake one?

Real is fake.

You know, if you have gerrymandering, you're slanting the process of legislative redistricting to the favor of one party.

And that undermines the competitive nature that our democracy should have in our elections.

It undermines also fair representation in so many ways.

And that's what happened in 2011.

We got a congressional map that really was terribly gerrymandered and overly favored the Republicans in a state where there's roughly half a million more registered Democrats than Republicans.

That map produced 13 Republican congressmen and only five Democrats.

And I think there is a groundswell of support for independent commissions.

There's nine states that I'm aware of that already have it and have done a great job with it, have been able to improve their redistricting process and make it more transparent, more open, and come up with creating district lines that make far more sense and create more competitive elections.

So what's the next step for you in this process?

Are you going to continue to fight for a redistricting commission, or are you switching up your strategy?

No, I intend to continue being an advocate for I think it's a needed reform.

It's a good reform.

It'll create a better election process.

It'll create better representation in the process, too, by having fairer districts drawn.

America's labor unions have a long history of political engagement.

It includes advocacy for safe working conditions, minimum wage laws and other benefits, even candidate endorsements.

How involved are unions in the 2022 elections?

Anna Mackay, Ratcliffe assembled a panel of current and former Pennsylvania union leaders to find out.

Thinking back on your time in your unions, I'd love to hear from each of you what work you've done that's been most meaningful to you and your fellow members.

The most meaningful work is representing my my workers, their families and the retirees.

You know, providing good wage benefits and retirement.

That's what I'm most proud of providing for my members.

Well, the thing that I'm most proud of is being able to educate members through our newsletter, our Labor Council newsletter and other publications, because I think a lot of union members don't even know much about their own unions.

It's about having a voice on the job and being able to be better participating in American democracy.

The number one job that I had was to protect the terms and conditions of our contract.

And I always believe from the very beginning of my time doing that job for ten years, that our members would learn the value of their union by watching me do that job.

I know that civic education and advocacy is a really big part of what unions do for their members.

Can you tell us a little bit more about that process?

What we did to leave early Labor Council, we took a three pronged approach.

We approached worksite leafleting, phone banking and door to door conversations with union members.

And this happened every election cycle, whether it was on the midterms, municipal elections.

Tell them about the issues.

Tell them about the candidates that are running for office and who is labor friendly.

The civic engagement for us is collectively as a union and the membership we are much more powerful than a single voice.

So the first thing is to educate your members right on what matters to them and try to present that.

And then we just go out into the community, like Ron said, and we try to promote that.

If you find yourself within your union supporting different candidates, either in a primary or a general election, how do you guys handle that?

How does the decision get made internally, like when in the election cycle?

I'd just love to hear about that.

And then do you work with other unions on that ever?

We've all had respect for one another and there have been times when we disagreed on a particular candidate.

And we usually that disagreement usually came up early on, early in the election cycle.

So we were able to iron out those differences long before we got to the election process.

Everything that we do that's election oriented is about the best interests of our children and our teachers.

That's how we get our recommended candidates.

For us, we engage the candidates.

Even before the primary.

We start to learn about them, go to some of their events, you know, tender debates, see how they do in a primary.

Most of my members are building trades, electricians, but I do have two public sector groups.

So what might be good for the building trades always doesn't isn't the best for the public sector.

So there's always a a constant weighing of that.

Throughout the time that I was president of my local, we had approximately 47% of our members were registered Republicans.

The Democratic and Republican candidates are invited to to share their their ideas, their platform with us at Labor Council meetings.

And many, many times the Republican candidates do not come to those events that we.

Hold in one of the past elections.

We support.

The Republican and Democratic candidate wasn't very happy with us because he thought we were a union.

And we always support Democrats.

We support whoever is good for the IBEW.

Is there times that you will work with or like use resources to kind of lobby for something that is not necessarily a good or bad thing for your union, but that would be supporting another union, or is that.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Because we you know, we're all together and we understand.

And I think we won't advocate for anything that would harm another union.

We know the elections are pretty much upon us.

Can you guys each share what your organizations are doing in this election cycle?

Membership is just educating the members and it's standing in front of them.

Again, not the basic thought that I get to them is vote for your work, vote for your job.

There's a lot of social issues out there but from my duty is representing members is vote your job.

We have to repeatedly say over and over again your dues money does not go to any candidate at all.

And that's very important that we make sure they understand it.

We have PACs.

And so you can give outside of the dues process.

I know the best run labor campaigns began 23 months ago.

You educate your members at 365 days out of the year, year after year, and you don't wait till the very end to tell them, well, here's our slate of candidates.

Please vote for them.

I think one of the big issues that we keep are front and center to workers besides all their economic issues, is the importance of keeping democracy strong.

And this election because it's under such great threat.

Joshua miller is a professor of government and Law Lafayette College.

He observed the conversation with labor officials and offered these thoughts.

I thought an interesting line of question that you raised had to do with how do they handle splits within their membership on issues?

And this is a time in our country of tremendous division.

They claim and are bipartisan.

They won't pick just a Republican or just a Democrat.

So that doesn't divide the membership.

He also said one of the speakers said, we vote the issue.

So the well, we vote the issue and we vote the person who supports the union on that.

So that's the way we don't we're not getting into a lot of conflict over this candidate or that candidate.

We're voting for the person who helps workers in this instance.

Well, thank you so much for your time.

Family gatherings for the holidays can be joyous occasions, but if the conversation veers into elections and politics, the festive feelings can sometimes crash and burn.

With the help from some students in Lafayette's theater department, I produced this next video essay that offers tips on how to keep family politics from spinning out of control.

Hey, guys, it's so nice to see everyone for Thanksgiving again.

I've missed you guys so much.

Yeah, I'm excited for food and festivities and just to be with the family again.

Yeah, I know.

I feel like I have no clue what's going on in everyone's lives.

I get bits and pieces from Instagram and Facebook.

Speaking of Uncle Joe, I saw your post on Facebook the other day.

Very interesting.

I'm here with Monica Amorosi.

She's a licensed therapist who specializes in interpersonal relationship skills as well as stress management.

What are we thinking about this?

Monica The moment we want to bring this up, it's important for us to understand where we are hoping the conversation will go if the goal is for conflict.

But we're trying to avoid tension.

Probably best to not bring it up at all.

If your goal is for discussion, then it's important that you are mindful to listen to what the other person has to say.

Otherwise, it's not going to be a productive discussion.

All right.

Let's see how this plays out.

What post?

Yeah, I saw that post, too.

You know, the one that was very politically motivated.

Oh, my posts where I reposted a Republican and had my own comments on their policies and views.

What was wrong with it?

You're just making yourself look really dumb.

How so?

Well, you know what this family stands for, and it's not what you're promoting.

You really shouldn't let people know that you're a Democrat for your own sake.

This conversation is definitely starting to ramp up.

This type of comment might make another person feel judged or like an outsider, and this does not help the person pay attention to the point you're making.

Making someone feel bad for their beliefs or like they won't be accepted is not a healthy way to finally change someone's mind.

Therefore, it is no longer a productive discussion.

Instead, we should try to figure out a way to present different beliefs in a way that has less tension and conflict with it.

Absolutely.

Let's see how this plays out.

Hey, I like the post and he's the only one who knows what he's talking about in this family.

You're really going to let yourself be influenced by him?

Yeah, I am.

I actually read the news, unlike some of us were just following along.

Like sheep in a herd.

Yeah.

I wish I could influence more of you young people.

I mean, it's your first year voting and you're voting Republican.

Your views can really hurt this country.

Wow.

That's not the most productive comment, is it?

No, it's not.

Be prepared to share information that backs up your beliefs besides just trying to do a motion to change the other person's opinion with this particular argument.

If we truly believe voting Republican will for the country, then make sure you have some information that can back up that viewpoint.

If education and influence is your goal, we want to be mindful of teaching and not preaching.

All right, we'll continue.

But your generation is going downhill.

Perhaps a lutely not.

We need more people like James in this world to make a change.

Molly.

However, I hope you haven't let those friends from that college of yours influence you.

Trust me, they don't know what they're talking about.

James and I are your family.

You should vote how we do.

Me and my college friends will know more than you ever will.

Wow.

Things got really intense by the end there.

So what do we think about this conversation overall, Monica?

If there's to be any takeaway from this, it's definitely how the information was being presented.

There's nothing wrong with discussing key points and observations that we find online.

However, if the goal of this discussion is to create conflict or chaos or to incite an argument, it's probably best if we just avoid these discussions altogether, especially if the goal is to maintain and preserve the relationships within the family.

But if your goal is to have a productive conversation in the hopes of changing someone's mind or maybe even learning something for yourself, then remember that conflict almost never creates positive change in these types of discussions.

Yes, you ready to defend your viewpoint?

But you also need to listen to the other party and trying to understand them will really help maintain your relationship, even if you don't agree with each other.

Now let's see how this family can change their discussion to potentially make it more productive.

Hey, guys, so nice to see you all again for Thanksgiving.

I've missed you all so much.

Yeah, I'm so excited for food and festivities and just to be with the family again.

Yeah, I feel like I have no clue what's going on in everyone's lives.

I'm just getting bits and pieces from Instagram and Facebook.

Speaking of Uncle Joe, I saw your post on Facebook the other day.

Very interesting.

What post?

Yeah, I saw that post, too.

The one that was very politically motivated.

Oh, the one where I reposted a Republican candidate and had my own comments on their policies in the election race.

What was wrong with it?

I don't agree with the post you put up.

How so?

Your views are just different than everyone else in the family.

I mean, I agreed with his post and I really appreciated him sharing his views.

You're really going to let yourself be influenced by him?

I mean, what he says makes sense based on what I know.

You know, I wish I could influence some more young people.

I mean, it's your first year voting and you're voting Republican.

Your views can really hurt the country.

What sources do you have to back up your views?

I guess I just don't understand some young people's beliefs that are different from mine.

It makes me really uncomfortable that you would think something so differently than me.

It feels like you don't want to have a productive discussion on this.

Maybe we could talk about something else.

Monica, thank you so much for joining me today.

Thank you so much for having me.

It was great to get to speak to you on a final note.

Well, these skits were somewhat exaggerated.

Interpersonal conflict with regards to politics is truly no laughing matter.

Relationships can be strained through constant political argument and using tactics to avoid this is extremely beneficial.

Lafayette Students are paying close attention to the 2022 elections, and that includes hundreds of international students drawn from 52 countries.

Calvin Cochran and Sofia Bono brought together international and domestic students to share their thoughts on where the midterms fit on the global stage.

So my first question is for the international students.

In recent years, how has the United States presented itself on the global stage?

And do you think the country is generally respected?

More than not?

Currently, the US has played military bases and soldiers almost everywhere across the world, so it has a lot of unfair advantage and power that it can abuse at any moment.

So I would say it's probably not looked at in a very positive light outside it.

Like in other nations.

I'm from Asia and if I focus on the Asian landscape, we will see that, you know, China has been on the rising edge in Asia.

But we also see like with issues like Taiwan coming out, the United States is taking like an active role in supplying arms to Taiwan.

And this naturally creates an insecurity for countries like China.

But for countries to respect the United States, even more, I think what is needed at this point is that the United States takes a more responsible role in global politics.

To our American students.

What is or has contributed to our current reputation as described by the international students?

Do you think we are being accurately depicted?

I think the United States has kind of abandoned our isolationist policies, especially with the rise of neoliberal economic, global system and policies that are associated with that.

The United States has definitely taken advantage of that being the really the catalyst for that expansion of a global economic system.

From an American perspective, it's totally understandable why and you can look at that as a possible security benefit, an economic benefit, a cultural benefit to have your influence and your language, your culture spread around the world.

I mean, honestly, I need a second opinion.

It really was the abandoned of the US's traditional isolationist foreign policy and really with that, the more involved you get in global affairs, the more mistakes you can make.

So with Afghanistan, I mean it was really the US deciding it needs to take a proactive stance against terrorism in the Middle East.

And I mean, there were many mistakes made really like avoiding four interventions and more would probably be a good solution to addressing those concerns about the US's international reputation.

I have another question for the American students.

Do you think that there are institutions in place that make it more or less difficult for the United States to present itself in a positive light?

Yes, specifically to what I study here at Lafayette, mainly extraction and the multiple forms of resistance.

I would say that the way in which the United States has looked to areas, especially in the global south and in the east, for resources largely through exploitative means, has a profound impact on how we are viewed.

Honestly, I'd say just the UN as a whole, the way it's structured with giving, like every single country, sort of like an equal vote, just hampers the United States ability to like go into like any humanitarian mission through the UN because there is always these like sort of marginal interests being magnified.

So this question is for everyone.

Do you think that the upcoming midterm and gubernatorial elections will have an international impact?

Do other countries pay attention to elections like this?

And do you think that they should?

In my case and for many of my other friends, I would definitely be more concerned about the type of like immigration policies or the sort of role that the new government takes towards international student are how welcoming it is of foreigners.

Astonishing highlighted.

The main concern right now is like the immigration policy and there's still a very huge waiting line across Asia and China and India and Southeast Asia for getting US visas.

They have an open multiple categories of visas and students are actually finding it hard to get there.

Like there are huge lines outside the embassies.

I think that we're naive in that we believe that other global citizens have the time to pay attention to our local or state governmental elections because most of the world does not have the time.

Education around the world is extremely lacking, although I do believe fervently that it does impact everybody on a global scale.

As as it's been mentioned here before, the United States has a profound breadth of influence.

And finally, Dimitri, do you think other countries pay attention to elections like this.

And will they definitely will have an international impact.

People, I think, will pay less attention to the individual candidates and more so when there is like a lot of dysfunction in the US government, a lot of infighting between Congress and the President.

That's really when everyone on the global stage is like paying attention because the US oftentimes devolves into really petty infighting.

From Skillman Library and Lafayette College.

I'm Anna Finkel, and thank you for joining us.

That's it for this third installment of our Shifting Democracy series.

Be sure to vote on Tuesday on behalf of Professor Mark Crane and the Policy Studies Program at Lafayette College and our partners at PBS 39 and Lehigh Valley Public Media.

Thank you for joining us.

Goodnight.