Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien

FEBRUARY 10, 2018 (2x21)

Air date: Feb 10, 2018

This week on Matter of Fact, how do you keep gerrymandering from happening across the states? Both Republicans and Democrats do it, using it to provide job security for elected officials. One state that seems to have it right is Iowa, which has avoided gerrymandering since the 1960’s. David Yepsen is a veteran political reporter in Iowa and joins Soledad from Des Moines to explain why nonpartisan redistricting works in Iowa and how gerrymandering is suppressing moderate voters. And, local election officials are preparing for the midterm primaries, working to protect their electoral systems from malicious cyber attacks. It’s a big concern for Noah Praetz, the election director in Cook County, Illinois. In 2016, Illinois’ system was hacked, compromises thousands of voter records. He joins us from Chicago and tells Soledad that one of the biggest challenges election officials face is that the cyber threat is constantly changing, but America’s election infrastructure hasn’t. Plus, Soledad takes a look at the deadly flu still infecting thousands of Americans. Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s top flu expert at the National Institutes of Health, joins Soledad in studio to talk about the search for a universal flu vaccine that would keep you healthy for years.