Federal Court Dismisses Alabama Challenge to Including Illegal Immigrants in Apportionment Results

By EditorMay 04, 2021
On Monday, a federal district court in Alabama dismissed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Census Bureau's practice of including the "whole number of persons in each state" in the census counts for apportionment. The state of Alabama had filed the challenge to block the inclusion of unlawful immigrants in the apportionment count, but the recently announced apportionment results played a role in the case dismissal. According to Alabama, the Final "2020 Census Residence Criteria and Residence Situations Rule" promulgated by the U.S. Census Bureau on February 8, 2018, provides that foreign nationals living in the U.S. will be counted in…
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The National Urban League (et al.) Agreed to Settle its Lawsuit Seeking to Slowdown the Census Work Plan. Here are the Details of the Agreement.

By EditorApr 24, 2021
On Thursday, the federal district court overseeing litigation challenging the U.S. Census Bureau's handling of 2020 Census data collection and post-processing, issued an order to dismiss the case with detailed stipulations for all parties involved. The lead plaintiff, The National Urban League and various other entities In National Urban League v. Raimondo have agreed to cease litigation in return for regular and robust assurances that 2020 Census data will be processed carefully and accurately. Below is a summary of the stipulations and selected quotes from the court's order. " . . .the parties agree that rather than continuing to dispute…
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Federal District Court Issues Dismissal of Census Bureau Lawsuit with Detailed Stipulations for Both Parties

By EditorApr 23, 2021
The U.S. Census Bureau has reached an agreement with the various plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit seeking to ensure census data accuracy by asking the court to enforce extended timelines for processing 2020 census data. The lawsuit was originally filed to enjoin the bureau from ending its counting operations one month before its previously scheduled deadline of October 31, 2020. Further requests by plaintiffs sought to block the bureau from attempting to modify apportionment data to only include citizens and ensure that data accuracy did not suffer as the bureau sought to meet statutory deadlines for reporting data earlier in…
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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…
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Update: Alabama Court Grants 3-Judge Panel in Census Lawsuit

Update: Alabama Court Grants 3-Judge Panel in Census Lawsuit

By EditorMar 29, 2021
An Alabama federal district court granted a Mar 8 request for a 3-judge panel by plaintiffs to consider the differential privacy claims raised in a lawsuit filed by the state of Alabama against the U.S. Census Bureau. Federal statute allows a plaintiff to request a 3-judge panel to consider any case involving the use of any statistical method used in the decennial U.S. census in possible violation of the Constitution or other provision of law. This development ensures a fast-track to the U.S. Supreme Court should one of the parties appeal the panel's decision. Read the court's order. In granting…
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Ohio’s Lawsuit Over Census Data Delay is Dismissed by Federal Court

By EditorMar 24, 2021
Earlier today, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio denied Ohio's request to the court for an order compelling the U.S. Census Bureau to deliver redistricting data to the state by the statutory deadline of March 31. Ultimately the court denied the request for a preliminary injunction for lack of standing because the Census Bureau's failure to meet its deadline in and of itself does not constitute a redressable injury, explaining that "A litigant is not concretely injured and standing is not met simply because a statute creates a legal obligation that goes unfulfilled." In an opinion…
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West Virginia: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

West Virginia: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

By EditorMar 12, 2021
The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision and upheld West Virginia's 2011 congressional map with population deviations between districts of .79 percent. Tennant v. Jefferson County, No. 11-1184, 567 U.S. 758 (Sep. 25, 2012) The Jefferson County Commission and residents of Jefferson County alleged that West Virginia’s 2011 congressional plan violated the “one-person, one-vote” principle of Article I, § 2, of the U.S. Constitution. West Virginia created a redistricting plan that had a maximum population deviation of 0.79 percent (the variance between the smallest and largest districts). The State conceded that it could have made a plan with less deviation,…
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What Will an Updated Voting Rights Act Preclearance Formula Look Like?

What Will an Updated Voting Rights Act Preclearance Formula Look Like?

By EditorMar 10, 2021
The U.S. Supreme Court effectively halted administrative preclearance for redistricting maps (as well as other voting changes) for states required to do so under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (see Shelby County v. Holder). This ended the need for the Justice Dept. to preapprove redistricting maps in TX, Georgia, Alabama, several more states, and some local jurisdictions. While the court did not actually invalidate section 5, it did declare the formula that determines which states are covered under section 5 unconstitutional because it had not been updated for some time. With Democrats in control of Congress and the…
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New York State Officials Sued Over Funding for Redistricting Commission

New York State Officials Sued Over Funding for Redistricting Commission

By EditorMar 09, 2021
The controversy over funding of the New York Redistricting Commission has come to a head as two individuals sue the governor and other state officials over the impasse. One plaintiff is a former candidate for the state legislature and the other, a member of the commission itself. They challenge the decision to provide funding for the commission through a third-party organization as opposed to a direct appropriation, which they claim is required by the state constitutional provision establishing the commission. This is the latest in a months-long saga for the commission that began when funds were not appropriated to the…
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Idaho: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

Idaho: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

By EditorMar 09, 2021
In 2012, the Idaho Supreme Court Invalidated the legislative map adopted by Idaho Commission on Redistricting on state constitutional grounds. Twin Falls County v. Idaho Comm’n on Redistricting, No. 39373, 2012, 271 P.3d 1202 (Idaho 2012). This case involves a state constitutional challenge to the legislative apportionment plan adopted by the Idaho Commission on Redistricting. Plaintiffs argued the plan adopted by the commission violated art. III, § 5, of the Idaho Constitution, which states that “a county may be divided in creating districts only to the extent it is reasonably determined by statute that counties must be divided to create senatorial…
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