South Carolina: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

By EditorMar 09, 2021

South Carolina was involved in one major challenge to its congressional and state legislative maps adopted after the 2010 census. A federal trial court declined to invalidate the maps despite the plaintiff's claims of racial gerrymandering and Voting Rights Act (VRA) violations. Interestingly, the trial court's decision came shortly before the Supreme Court's decision in Shelby County, which drastically changed how racial considerations are viewed by courts under Section 5 of the VRA. Backus v. South Carolina, No. 3:11-cv-3120 (D.S.C. Mar. 9, 2012), aff’d, No. 11-1404 (U.S. Oct. 1, 2012) (mem.) Registered voters in South Carolina challenged the General Assembly’s state and congressional redistricting plans…

NEWS, Redistricting LitigationSouth Carolina

Watch: Census Bureau Briefs States On Redistricting Data Delivery Delay

By EditorMar 09, 2021

Watch this virtual briefing by the bureau last week on what exactly is taking so long with the redistricting data that states need to complete maps. Redistricting data will be delayed at least six months until Sep. 30. James Whitehorne, Chief of the Census Redistricting & Voting Rights Data Office at the Census Bureau, briefed state officials during this meeting hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The meeting begins with a short update on the status of H.R. 1, a sweeping election reform bill currently moving through Congress that would impose dramatic structural changes to the congressional redistricting…

Census Data and Geography, FEATURES, VIDEOAnalysis, census, census 2020, dataindepth, national, U.S. Census Bureau

Highlights of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4)

By EditorMar 09, 2021

During the 116th congress in 2019, the Voting Rights Advancement Act was introduced in the Senate by Senator Leahy. The bill is expected to be reintroduced in some form in the current 117th congress. Below are the highlights of the bill’s provisions as articulated by Sen. Leahy’s office. You can read a more in-depth explanation of the first two points here. creates a new coverage formula that applies to all states and hinges on a finding of repeated voting rights violations in the preceding 25 years. establishes a targeted process for reviewing voting changes in jurisdictions nationwide, focused on measures…

LAW, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rules, Voting Rights ActBASICS, national, Voting Rights Act

PlanScore Announces Online Redistricting App for Measuring Partisan Bias

By EditorMar 07, 2021

As the push for more transparency and less partisanship in redistricting intensifies, PlanScore aims to be "a trusted, non-partisan resource for the redistricting efforts to come in the 2020 cycle." The nonprofit organization formed by top legal, academic, and technical experts in the field, will do this by offering an online diagnostic tool for redistricting maps. The Online App The online service will assist legislative staff and the general public by allowing any geographic file uploaded by site visitors to be checked for its partisan, demographic, racial, and geometric features. The analysis gives plan-wide scores for several statistical measures that…

DATA and TECHNOLOGY, FEATURES, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting GerrymandersAnalysis, dataindepth, planscore, redistricting data

Listen: Census Bureau Official and NCSL Director Discuss Redistricting Data Quality and Delays

By EditorMar 07, 2021

In this "Our American States" podcast hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) James Whitehorne, chief of the Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office at U.S. Census Bureau, and Wendy Underhill, who oversees the Elections and Redistricting Program at NCSL discuss how the pandemic affected the bureau’s ability to collect data, and how states are responding to the six-month delay for redistricting data. Podcast https://redistrictingonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/OAS_Episode_124.mp3 For more podcasts visit the Our American States Podcast Page at NCSL.org

Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, FEATURES, LATEST, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting PrepAnalysis, census, census 2020, dataindepth, ncsl, podcast, redistricting data, U.S. Census Bureau

2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission Makes Historic Hire with First Latino Executive Director

By EditorMar 04, 2021

Press Release: SACRAMENTO, CA (Feb. 25, 2021) —Today, the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission) confirmed Interim Executive Director Álvaro E. Hernández as its permanent Executive Director. Mr. Hernandez becomes the first Latino to serve in this post in a state where 40% of the population is Latino. The announcement was made upon reconvening from a closed session. “The Commission is thrilled to announce the hiring of Álvaro E. Hernández as its permanent Executive Director,” stated Chair Pedro Toledo. “Mr. Hernández’ promotion recognizes the Commission’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Mr. Hernández created the comprehensive outreach plan immediately upon…

NEWS, Official Redistricting Entities, Redistricting CommissionsCalifornia, redistricting commissions

Amendments to H.R. 1 Take Congressional Map-Drawing Out of the Hands of State Legislatures in 2021

By EditorMar 03, 2021

In mid-February, we reported about potential sweeping reforms of the congressional redistricting process in the states proposed by Congress. The bill (H.R. 1) would have been effective in 2030 but newly added amendments on Monday, make it a requirement for states this year. Yes. This year. The amended H.R.1 requires states to either create an agency to establish a commission or designate an existing one to carry out a detailed commissioner selection process. The procedural requirements are substantial and maps created by the commission must meet various rigorous statistical measures to avoid partisan gerrymandering. A vote is scheduled on the…

LATEST, Redistricting Commissions, Redistricting Criteria, REFORMcongress, national, partisan gerrymandering, policyindepth, redistricting reform

Listen: Supreme Court Oral Argument in Brnovich Voting Rights Act (sec. 2) Case

By EditorMar 03, 2021

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, a lawsuit challenging Arizona's out-of-precinct policy on Election Day, which does not count provisional ballots cast in person that were cast outside of the voter’s designated precinct and its ballot-collection law, which permits only certain persons to handle another person’s completed early ballot. The lawsuit contends these laws violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. While redistricting maps are often challenged for minority vote dilution under Section 2 of the Act, this case involves claims of vote denial as opposed to vote dilution and centers around…

LATEST, LAW, Redistricting, VIDEO, Voting Rights ActArizona, lawindepth, lpscotus, lpvra, national

California Redistricting Commission Launches Communities of Interest Tool

By EditorMar 03, 2021

PRESS RELEASE 2020 California Citizens Redistricting CommissionLaunches Communities of Interest Tool SACRAMENTO, CA—Today, the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission) and the California Statewide Database announced the launch of the Communities of Interest (COI) input tool, designed to make it easier for Californians to participate in the redistricting process. Every 10 years, after the federal government publishes updated census information, California must redraw the boundaries of its Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts so that the state’s population is evenly allocated among the new districts. When the Commission creates new districts, it must follow certain…

Redistricting Commissions, Redistricting CriteriaCalifornia, coi tool, communities of interest, policyindepth, press-releases, redistricting commissions, STATENEWS

February Redistricting Update

By EditorMar 02, 2021

A recap of developments in redistricting for the last month. If you weren't paying attention, you likely missed a lot of activity in the redistricting realm this February. The biggest news is the first two redistricting lawsuits have been filed in courts even before any line-drawing has begun. Read on for this and other developments from the Census Bureau, California's redistricting commission, and congress. Litigation States have made the preparations to begin the redistricting process but there is no census data available yet to start the task. At least two states are not taking this laying down and have filed…

LATEST, Monthly Redistricting Update, NEWS, RedistrictingCalifornia, census 2020, HR1, Illinois, Monthly Updates, Prison gerrymandering, prisoner reallocation