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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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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Watch: NC Supreme Court Rehears Congressional Redistricting Map Case

Watch: NC Supreme Court Rehears Congressional Redistricting Map Case

By EditorMar 15, 2023
A reconstituted North Carolina Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that the court decided in February of 2022. The 2022 decision invalidated the legislature's congressional map and replaced it with a map drawn by a special master. Later in the year, the court gained a conservative majority following the 2022 mid-term elections, and in a move some call unprecedented, it agreed to rehear the case to consider whether it should overturn its previous decision - or at least allow the North Carolina legislature to enact a new congressional map. Watch the oral arguments at the link below.…
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U.S. Supreme Court Calls for 2nd Briefing in NC Map Case

U.S. Supreme Court Calls for 2nd Briefing in NC Map Case

By EditorMar 05, 2023
On March 2, parties to the Moore v. Harper case were directed by the U.S. Supreme Court to file supplemental letter briefs addressing the following question: What is the effect on this Court’s jurisdiction under 28 U. S. C. §1257(a) and Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U. S. 469 (1975), of the North Carolina Supreme Court’s February 3, 2023 order granting rehearing, and any subsequent state court proceedings? The briefs are due Monday, March 20, 2023. This request is in response to a February 3, decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court - with a newly elected Republican majority…
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