How Will the Alabama SCOTUS Decision Affect Litigation in Other States?

By EditorJun 15, 2023

The Supreme Court's somewhat "unexpected" ruling on the Section 2 challenge to Alabama's congressional district map has led to questions about what effect it will have in states with ongoing Section 2 litigation. Below are some articles that ask and attempt to answer the question of how the Alabama decision will affect litigation in those states. Texas Litigation: Where Texas redistricting lawsuits stand after U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Alabama case. (Texas Tribune) Arkansas: Plaintiffs hope SCOTUS decision in Alabama case bodes well for Arkansas redistricting lawsuits. (ualrpublicradio.org/) Georgia: Redistricting: Court ruling against Alabama's racially redistricted map could affect Georgia.…

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Update: Status of New York Redistricting Maps. June 2023

By EditorJun 14, 2023

New York's post-2020 census redistricting continues to be contentious. Here is an update on the legal status of the congressional and state legislative maps. In 2022 state courts invalidated all three of New York state's redistricting maps (Congressional, state senate, and state assembly) on procedural grounds after the New York Independent Redistricting Commission deadlocked on maps. With no provision in the state constitution addressing exactly what should happen in the case of a commission deadlock, the legislature enacted its own maps in February of 2022. Later, a state trial court held that the legislature overstepped when it adopted maps and…

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U.S. Supreme Court Makes “Surprise” Decision Striking Alabama’s Congressional Map

By EditorJun 09, 2023

On Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Alabama District Court's preliminary injunction against the state's 2021 Congressional map on grounds that it diluted the votes of Black voters in the state in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The 5-4 decision ensures that Alabama's 7 district congressional map, which included only one with a majority of Black voters - will have to be redrawn to include an additional minority Black district. African Americans make up more than a quarter of the state’s population. The decision has implications for Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas as well. It is…

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Alaska State Supreme Court Set to Decide if Interim Legislative Map Will Remain in Effect for the Decade

By EditorApr 24, 2023

On Friday, the Alaska Supreme Court issued its opinion detailing its March 2022 ruling that Alaska's legislative (a.k.a. Proclamation) Map violated the state's equal protection clause due to partisan gerrymandering. The opinion is not a surprise since the court made this conclusion clear in a March 25 2022 order. What is newsworthy, is that the court asked the Alaska Redistricting Board to make a case for restarting the redistricting process over to establish a final map for the rest of the decade. After two failed attempts by the Redistricting Board to adopt a legislative map, a third map was used…

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Read: NCSL Report and Recommendations on State Inmate Reallocation Efforts During the 2020 Redistricting Cycle.

By EditorApr 17, 2023

The number of states that reallocate (reassign) prisoners/inmates for redistricting has grown from just 2 during the 2010 redistricting cycle to 13 states in this 2020 cycle. They are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington. The goal of this process is to remove or mitigate distortions in district populations that are caused by correctional facilities that house large numbers of ineligible voters. This entails adjusting census data (which counts inmates where they are physically located) to reflect each inmate's location to be their last known address. The inmate reallocation…

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Litigation Notes: Challenge to Galveston Co. TX Commissioner Court Map Survives Motion to Dismiss and will Proceed to Trial

By EditorApr 12, 2023

Galveston Co., Texas: The County's adopted commissioner court precinct map for the 2020 cycle, is being challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), voting rights organizations, and several individual voters. The claims in the consolidated case center around the maps' elimination of the sole remaining minority-opportunity district. The county had failed to preclear a similar map during the 2010 cycle and was subject to a preliminary injunction by a federal district court to prevent the use of that map. The current map is being challenged on several grounds including racial gerrymandering, minority vote dilution, and intentional racial discrimination under…

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Briefs Filed in Litigation to Redraw New York’s Congressional Map

By EditorApr 10, 2023

Last week, briefs were filed in a case brought by a group of voters to redraw New York's current congressional map. The state used a map drawn by a court special master to conduct the 2022 election after a map drawn by the legislature was deemed a partisan gerrymander. The New York legislature had only passed its map after a newly established independent redistricting commission (NYIRC), deadlocked on maps in January of 2022. Now the question is whether the legislature, the commission, or both can have another go at it. A trial court in September of 2022 unequivocally answered "no"…

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Redistricting Notes: New Map Challenge Brewing in WI. Boston Map Challenge in Hands of Federal Judge.

By EditorApr 10, 2023

Wisconsin: With a new liberal majority on the Wisconsin supreme court, at least one organization is planning to bring a new legal challenge to the state's Congressional and legislative maps. Expect litigation in the late summer or early Fall. Boston, MA: The Boston City Council's "unity map" is under litigation for racial gerrymandering and after a trial last week, a federal court must decide whether the map will stand. The judge hearing the case has warned that if the map is overturned, the court will not elect to redraw the map or have a special master draw a remedial map.…

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Federal Register Notice Comment Period for OMB Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards Extended to April 27

By EditorApr 07, 2023

U.S. Census Bureau News Release April 7, 2023 — On January 27, 2023, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a notice and request for comments on “Initial Proposals for Updating OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards.” OMB is extending the public comment period for that notice, which currently closes on April 12, 2023, by 15 days. The comment period will now remain open until April 27, 2023, to allow additional time for the public to review and comment on the initial proposals. You can submit comments by clicking the link above and following the instructions. Background OMB maintains government-wide standards for…

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Census Bureau Releases 2020 Census Results of Racial Identification for the Self-Reported Hispanic or Latino Population

By EditorMar 28, 2023

News Release — Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released results showing how people who identify as being of Hispanic or Latino origin (referred to as the Hispanic population) self-reported their race in the 2020 Census. The nonresponse rate to the race question for the Hispanic population decreased from 13.0% in 2010 to 8.1% in 2020, but there were major shifts in race reporting within the Hispanic population compared to the 2010 Census. The data show that the Hispanic population reporting one race decreased from over 81.6% in 2010 to less than 57.8% in 2020. Meanwhile, over one-third of the Hispanic population reported two or…

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