The U.S. Census Bureau’s Voting District Project (VTDP) will provide state liaisons the opportunity to submit and verify their local voting districts (a generic term used to represent areas that administer elections, such as precincts, election districts, and wards) to the Bureau for inclusion in the 2030 Census Redistricting Data products (tabulated data and geographic products). Local election and GIS offices do not submit voting districts directly to the Census Bureau, but may do so through the state liaison or a designated technical liaison. The quality of what their state submits in the VTDP depends on the groundwork laid by local officials; however, here are the most useful steps local jurisdictions can take well before the VTDP submission cycle opens in early 2028. Below is a short checklist to prepare:
- Inventory and update precinct boundary files, confirming they are current, complete, and reflect the precincts the office actually administers.
- Check those boundaries against census blocks; where a precinct boundary does not follow a block edge, record the physical feature it follows – a ridgeline, utility easement, or stream – so the state can flag it during the Block Boundary Suggestion Project. The BBSP verification phase runs January through May 2027, which is the last chance to influence block boundaries.
- Connect with the state’s official liaison now, because only they can submit. Local offices take part by being designated as technical liaisons or by routing their data through the liaison.
- Track the calendar: the BBSP verification phase runs January through May 2027 – the last chance to influence block boundaries – and the VTDP submission cycle begins in early 2028.
Front-loading this work pays off in the data itself: when local precinct boundaries already align with census blocks, the state’s voting districts can be tabulated from whole blocks rather than approximated as “pseudo” districts, and the precinct-level counts that result will more closely match the precincts in which each office actually runs.
The Census Bureau does not publish a public directory of state Redistricting Data Program liaisons; the most reliable way to find yours is to contact the Census Bureau’s Redistricting & Voting Rights Data Office at rdo@census.gov or 301-763-4039, which can identify your state’s designated liaison. You can also check with your state legislature’s nonpartisan research or services office, your State Data Center, or the secretary of state’s office, since many states route the role through one of those.
For broader guidance on preparing precinct and district records, including example checklists, see the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s Local Election Officials’ Guide to Redistricting. For program details and contacts, see the Census Bureau’s Redistricting Data Program Management page.
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