Justice Department Reaches Agreement with the City of West Monroe, Louisiana Under the Voting Rights Act

Justice Department Reaches Agreement with the City of West Monroe, Louisiana Under the Voting Rights Act

By EditorApr 16, 2021
The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a proposed consent decree to settle a voting rights lawsuit with the City of West Monroe, Louisiana. DOJ Press Release: April 15, 2021 The Justice Department’s lawsuit, brought under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, challenges the current at-large method of electing the West Monroe Board of Aldermen. Under this agreement, the City of West Monroe will change its method of electing its Board of Aldermen to ensure compliance with the protections of the Voting Rights Act. The proposed consent decree was filed in federal court in conjunction with…
LAW, NEWS, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rules, , ,
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Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission Announces Members

Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission Announces Members

By EditorApr 16, 2021
This Thursday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced the selection of six additional members to complete a nine-member citizens redistricting commission created by Hogan in January of this year. The panel will act as an advisory commission to recommend congressional and legislative district maps to the Governor in preparation for redistricting during the 2022 legislative session. The Maryland Constitution requires the governor to submit a state legislative district map to the General Assembly on the first day of the 2022 legislative session. Traditionally, a congressional map is also submitted but it is not constitutionally required. Read the press release regarding the…
NEWS, Redistricting,
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16 States Join in Alabama’s Challenge to the Census Bureau’s Data Privacy Program

By EditorApr 14, 2021
On Monday, 16 states joined Alabama in deriding the U.S. Census Bureau's newly adapted data privacy policy (aka differential privacy) which uses statistical algorithms to distort raw census data before it is released to states and the public. The states who jointly filed as amici in Alabama's lawsuit against the Bureau are Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Utah. The amicus brief filed on behalf of these states lists three "major harms" caused by differential privacy. 1) local redistricting cannot be conducted with any reasonable accuracy; 2)…
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Oregon Supreme Court Establishes Revised Deadlines for Legislative Maps

By EditorApr 10, 2021
On Friday, the Oregon Supreme Court issued new deadlines for state legislative redistricting in light of the census redistricting data delay. The order extends state constitutional deadlines for legislative redistricting by three months. It does not address congressional redistricting in the state, which is governed by state statute. Read the opinion here. In its opinion and order, the court explained that the revised deadlines will enable the Legislative Assembly and the Secretary of State to fulfill their constitutional duties "without significantly affecting the rights of voters or interfering with the 2022 general election cycle." Practically speaking it observed that a…
Case Updates, Casedocs, Enacting a Redistricting Map, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, , , , ,
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U.S. Census Bureau Releases Bulletin to Allay Fears and Explain its Testing Strategy for Differential Privacy

U.S. Census Bureau Releases Bulletin to Allay Fears and Explain its Testing Strategy for Differential Privacy

By EditorApr 07, 2021
This week, the U.S. Census Bureau released a bulletin that sounds a lot like it is a response to a report released by MALDEF and other civil rights groups earlier in the week. That report warns that the Bureau's application of differential privacy (DP) statistical techniques that alter census redistricting data to protect privacy, is likely to frustrate implementation of the Voting Rights Act during the redistricting process, ultimately disenfranchising minority voters. In particular, the MALDEF report claims that recent samples of 2010 census data treated with various degrees of differential privacy (DP) techniques will obfuscate the true population count…
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Reform: 2021 Gerrymandering Threat Index by Nonprofit Group “RepresentUs”

Reform: 2021 Gerrymandering Threat Index by Nonprofit Group “RepresentUs”

By EditorApr 07, 2021
RepresentUs, a nonprofit advocacy group, released an online app and 160-page Gerrymandering Threat Index report which measures each state's risk level for gerrymandering activity during the 2020 redistricting cycle. By its measure, 35 states have an extreme or high threat of gerrymandering or 70% of the nation, including over 188 million Americans. The index measures a state's likelihood that it will enact "gerrymandered" maps based on several factors including whether politicians draw maps, how transparent the process is, the robustness of legal criteria, the likelihood of partisan line-drawing, and how difficult maps are to challenge in court. Browse the risk…
Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, , ,
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Civil Rights Groups Issue New Report Detailing Potential Harm to Minority Groups During Redistricting Due to Differential Privacy

Civil Rights Groups Issue New Report Detailing Potential Harm to Minority Groups During Redistricting Due to Differential Privacy

By EditorApr 05, 2021
Civil rights groups are raising concerns about the accuracy of the U.S. Census Bureau’s proposed new system for protecting privacy in a report released today. The report raises concerns about how the Bureau's use of differential privacy as evidenced by recent demonstration data, will obfuscate the true population count of minority populations and frustrate compliance with federal (and some state) Voting Rights laws governing the redistricting process. PRESS RELEASE April 5, 2021: Civil Rights Groups Issue New Report Detailing Potential Harm to Upcoming Redistricting Efforts Highlight Concerns About the Census Bureau’s Differential Privacy Methodology (Washington, D.C.) – Civil rights groups…
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View the Latest Census Estimate Data for Your State with the Redistricting and You Online Map Tool

View the Latest Census Estimate Data for Your State with the Redistricting and You Online Map Tool

By EditorApr 03, 2021
The Center for Urban Research (CUR) at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) has created the Redistricting & You online map to help members of the public, journalists, elected officials, and other redistricting stakeholders to understand the local implications of redrawing legislative district lines across the country. The website uses the latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau to show several population characteristics that will help inform the redistricting debate. Until census 2020 data is available, the most current data to show how congressional and state legislative district demographics have changed is from the American Community Survey, either from the 5-year 2015-2019 estimates or…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, LATEST, Redistricting, Redistricting Prep,
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Monthly Redistricting Update: March

Monthly Redistricting Update: March

By EditorApr 01, 2021
Redistricting news for March includes some helpful redistricting-related resources, important litigation updates, and news from the California Redistricting Commission. Tools & Resources The primer for staffers on HR1 gives a concise timeline for compliance should this piece of legislation be enacted by Congress in its current form. It is also a quick and easy way to see exactly what is in this voluminous bill. Also, the U.S. Census Bureau released a handy interactive map of apportionment data results for the states since 1910. Congressional Redistricting Under HR1: A Primer for State Officials Interactive Historical Apportionment Map Released by U.S. Census…
LATEST, Monthly Redistricting Update, NEWS, Redistricting
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