Virginia: SB 1000 Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission

By EditorFeb 13, 2015
Virginia: SB 1000 Provides a new method for the preparation of state legislative and congressional redistricting plans; spells out standards for developing plans, including population equality, compactness, maintenance of cores of existing districts, and respect for locality boundaries; precludes consideration of incumbency and political data in developing plans; assigns responsibility to the Division of Legislative Services to prepare plans for submission to the General Assembly; and establishes a temporary redistricting advisory commission to advise the Division, disseminate information on plans, and hold hearings for public reaction to plans. The General Assembly may reject the Division's plans and may ultimately amend…
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Guinier and Blacksher Compare Shelby Decision to Dred Scott

By EditorFeb 06, 2015
James Blacksher, a practicing voting rights attorney in Alabama and Harvard Law professor and former DOJ Special Asst. to the AAG. for the Civil Rights Division, Lani Guinier write this article titled "Free at Last: Rejecting Equal Sovereignty and Restoring the Constitutional Right To Vote. Shelby County v. Holder." In it they question the Supreme Court's use of the Equal Sovereignty principle as a central tenant in its ruling that invalidated the mechanism for which section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is implemented. "Shelby County is the first decision since Dred Scott to invoke the doctrine of equal sovereignty where…
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Case Filing: Missouri NAACP v. Ferguson-Florissant School District et. al.

Case Filing: Missouri NAACP v. Ferguson-Florissant School District et. al.

By EditorFeb 06, 2015
Missouri - Plaintiffs content in this lawsuit filed in December that African-American voters in Ferguson-Florissant are denied the ability to elect candidates of their choice to the local school board because of the existing at-large voting system. "Despite the fact that African Americans are almost half of the School District’s population and are a substantial majority of its students, there has never been adequate representation of African Americans on the Board. At present, the Board has only one African-American member."   They claim that under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, that the at-large method of voting dilutes minority voting power…
Casedocs, Redistricting Race Rules, , ,
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Census 2020 Starts Now!

Census 2020 Starts Now!

By EditorFeb 04, 2015
It seems as though census 2010 was just yesterday but with the New Year, the 2020 census timeline is upon us; the official Census Bureau 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program begins later this year. The program’s five phase process leads up to and dictates the operational schedule for delivering crucial population data that states use for redistricting. Here is a quick summary of those phases: Block Boundary Suggestion Project Beginning in the second half of 2015, participating states will appoint liaisons that will receive suggestions from state and local officials on how census block geography should look in their jurisdictions.…
Redistricting, Strategy and Politics
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Language Minority Provisions of the Voting Right Act

Language Minority Provisions of the Voting Right Act

By EditorFeb 04, 2015
The U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse. Many regions have significant populations for which English is not their first language, to address this the Voting Rights Act was amended to include the minority language provisions of section 203. Section 203 of the VRA requires registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, or other materials or information relating to the electoral process, including ballots, to be provided in the language of an applicable minority in jurisdiction where: citizens of voting age in a single language group within the jurisdiction: Is more than 10,000, or Is more than five percent of all…
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