Redistricting Status Update: Washington State (Feb 2022)

Redistricting Status Update: Washington State (Feb 2022)

By Marissa ZanfardinoFeb 13, 2022
The status of redistricting in Washington State. After missing a Nov. 15, 2021 deadline, the Washington State Redistricting Commission approved congressional and state legislative maps just minutes later on Nov. 16th. Despite the missed deadline, the Commission asked the State Supreme Court to consider the late adopted maps. In the days after the Commission adopted its maps, two legal challenges were filed, including one from a government transparency group alleging that commissioners flouted the public meetings law by negotiating secretly for hours on November 15, 2021 before taking a rushed vote at midnight. That lawsuit claimed, “Commissioners held a pro…
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New York Law School Launches Public Redistricting Mapping Project

New York Law School Launches Public Redistricting Mapping Project

By EditorOct 31, 2021
New York, NY (October 27, 2021) – New York Law School’s (NYLS) New York Census and Redistricting Institute has launched a statewide Public Mapping Redistricting Project to coincide with the 2021 state redistricting cycle. Student teams from New York’s higher education institutions have been invited to participate in drafting maps for New York’s congressional, state senate, and state assembly districts and submit them to the State. They will use free online software and data, along with specialized training, to draw model maps.  The Project, developed by NYLS Adjunct Professor and Director of the Census and Redistricting Institute Jeffrey M. Wice, kicked shortly after the release of…
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Time.com Article Lays Out the Case for Prison Gerrymandering Reform

Time.com Article Lays Out the Case for Prison Gerrymandering Reform

By EditorJul 05, 2021
Prison Gerrymandering is more an act of omission than commission in that it occurs as a result of the redistricting process unless a jurisdiction acts to reverse it. In the 10 years between the 2010 and 2020 redistricting cycle, nearly a dozen states have committed to rectifying what many advocates say is a distortion in representational rights as a result of counting prisoners as residents of the electoral districts they are incarcerated in as opposed to the districts they resided in prior. Time.com offers this recent article that describes the issue in practical terms and makes the case for nationwide…
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Two Studies Find Major Issues with Soon to Be Released Census Data Due to Differential Privacy

Two Studies Find Major Issues with Soon to Be Released Census Data Due to Differential Privacy

By EditorMay 30, 2021
A team of researchers at Harvard University and a separate team at the University of Minnesota have published reports offering a troubling assessment of the U.S. Census Bureau's use of differential privacy or disclosure avoidance system (DAS) to block would-be hackers from identifying the personal information of everyone who participated in the 2020 census. In short, both conclude that the soon-to-be-released census data will not be accurate enough for redistricting. Read both studies here: Harvard Study. University of Minnesota Study. These reports and others are responses solicited by the Census Bureau in its effort to promote transparency and obtain feedback…
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U.S. Census Bureau VIDEO: Differential Privacy 101

U.S. Census Bureau VIDEO: Differential Privacy 101

By EditorMay 07, 2021
Watch this video for a basic eplanation of the differential privacy technique used to protect the privacy of individuals whose data resides in large databases. The video demonstrates how database records can be reconstructed to gain more detailed information on an individual beyond what exists in the one database. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsh1R1WA0kU
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Election Data Services Report Gives Context to 2020 Apportionment Results

Election Data Services Report Gives Context to 2020 Apportionment Results

By EditorMay 04, 2021
Every 10 years the U.S. Census apportionment numbers are presented and every 10 years Election Data Services (EDS) releases a comprehensive analysis of the apportionment numbers giving us a contextual view of what they mean and how the numbers affect electoral politics in the U.S. This year's EDS analysis is particularly intriguing. Here are some of the highlights. Read the full report here. States that Just Missed an Additional Seat and States that Just Barely Held on to an Existing Seat: Under the Equal Proportions method of apportionment (which has been in use since the early 20th century), each state…
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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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Congressional Redistricting Under HR1: A Primer for State Officials

Congressional Redistricting Under HR1: A Primer for State Officials

By Jeffrey M. WiceMar 24, 2021
S.1/H.R.1 is a comprehensive piece of legislation dealing with election administration, voting procedures, and campaign finance, and it includes dramatic requirements for the congressional redistricting process in nearly every state. Whats more, these requirements may apply to the current redistricting cycle. My colleague Nick Stabile and I at New York Law School's NY Census & Redistricting Institute have drafted this guide (below) for state officials to comply with S.1/H.R.1 if the bill is enacted into law in its current form. It is designed as a “how-to” guide for states to implement HR1/S1’s redistricting provisions if enacted “as is." https://redistrictingonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/HR-1-_-S-1-Redistricting-Primer-for-State-Officials-03.23.2021.pdf Read…
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Interactive Historical Apportionment Map Released by U.S. Census Bureau

Interactive Historical Apportionment Map Released by U.S. Census Bureau

By EditorMar 22, 2021
You can now view the results of every apportionment since 1910 in this new interactive map from the U.S. Census Bureau. The map displays the change in the number of U.S. House seats for each state in each decade, the percent change in population, and population density for each state. U.S. Census Bureau March 22, 2021: Interactive Apportionment Map Now Available The U.S. Census Bureau launched a new online map today ahead of the 2020 Census apportionment results release. The “Historical Apportionment Data Map” currently displays apportionment results for each census from 1910 to 2010. 2020 Census apportionment results will…
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