Redistricting Data: What to Expect and When

Redistricting Data: What to Expect and When

By EditorJul 28, 2021
Director's Blog - BY DR. RON JARMIN, ACTING DIRECTOR: Since releasing the apportionment results in April, we’ve had several teams working hard on the next set of 2020 Census data — the redistricting data. These data play an important role in our democracy and will begin to illuminate the changes to the local and demographic makeup of our nation over the last decade. These data include the first sub-state population counts and demographic characteristics from the census, information that states typically use for redistricting — the process of redrawing electoral district boundaries based on where their populations have increased or…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Functions, Redistricting Prep, , , , , , , ,
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Resources Available to Prepare for the 2020 Census Redistricting Data Release

Resources Available to Prepare for the 2020 Census Redistricting Data Release

By EditorJul 28, 2021
Press Release- BY JAMES WHITEHORNE, CHIEF, REDISTRICTING DATA AND VOTING RIGHTS OFFICE: In a few weeks, we’ll release the 2020 Census redistricting data in our legacy summary file format. And a few weeks after that, we’ll release the same data in an easier-to-use format. We’re releasing the same data twice but in different formats at different times to make sure states get the data as quickly as possible. Acting Director Dr. Ron Jarmin explained these two releases in his blog, Redistricting Data: What to Expect and When. In this blog, I provide more detail about the formats and support materials available,…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, LATEST, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Prep, , , , , , ,
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Montgomery County Redistricting Commission Clarifies Use of “Draft Maps”

Montgomery County Redistricting Commission Clarifies Use of “Draft Maps”

By EditorJul 24, 2021
Statement from Montgomery County's Commission on Redistricting Chair Cordier about redistricting maps and ongoing deliberations For Immediate Release: Friday, July 23, 2021 Rockville, Md., July 23, 2021—At the July 14 meeting of the Montgomery County Commission on Redistricting, the group reviewed and discussed different redistricting mapping tools. As part of these deliberations, examples of maps were displayed and shared with Commission members to illustrate different approaches to using these tools.Mariana Cordier, chair of the Commission on Redistricting, made the following statement on the ongoing work of the group and the maps used as examples at the last meeting."At the sixth…
Local Redistricting, NEWS, Redistricting
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Census Bureau Moves Up Release of Demonstration Data to Coincide with August Redistricting Data Release

Census Bureau Moves Up Release of Demonstration Data to Coincide with August Redistricting Data Release

By EditorJul 23, 2021
Press Release (July 22, 2021): In response to stakeholder input about the value of earlier access to demonstration data that feature the 2020 Census Disclosure Avoidance System’s chosen production settings, the Census Bureau is moving up the release date for the demonstration data to coincide with the release (by August 16) of the legacy-formatted redistricting data. We’ll announce the specific release date in the coming weeks. The Census Bureau released metrics for the chosen production settings July 1 (see newsletter). We understand, based on your feedback, that access to the demonstration data coincident to the initial redistricting data release will…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, LATEST, NEWS, Redistricting, , , , ,
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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…
FEATURES, Redistricting, Redistricting Prisoners, , , , ,
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Duke University Prof. Will Discuss “Monte Carlo” Sampling Method for Fair Redistricting Maps

Duke University Prof. Will Discuss “Monte Carlo” Sampling Method for Fair Redistricting Maps

By EditorJul 03, 2021
Monte Carlo sampling is generally a numerical method of solving mathematical problems through random sampling. When applied to redistricting, many academics advocate its use either to ferret out extreme gerrymandering or to produce more fairly drawn maps in the first place. Professor of Mathematics Jonathan Christopher Mattingly of Duke University, will be discussing the Monte Carlo method in-depth as it applies to redistricting on July 20th as the I.E. Block Community Lecturer at the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) virtual annual meeting. Mattingly has served as an expert witness in several high-profile restricting cases, including the recent U.S. Supreme Court case…
NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, , , , , ,
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Watch: CNN Interview with UC Irvine Law Professor Rick Hasen Discussing Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Decision in Brnovich

Watch: CNN Interview with UC Irvine Law Professor Rick Hasen Discussing Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Decision in Brnovich

By EditorJul 03, 2021
In a CNN interview, University of California Law Professor Rick Hasen, author of the popular Election Law Law Blog, explains his take on the Supreme Court's Brnovich decision regarding Section 2 of the Votings Rights Act of 1965. Also below, is his blog post analyzing the decision shortly after the decision was handed down on Thursday. Read the Brnovich opinion here. https://vimeo.com/570075479/cee7c476e7 ELECTION LAW BLOG: Breaking and Analysis: Supreme Court on 6-3 Vote Rejects Voting Rights Act Section 2 Case in Brnovich Case— A Significant Weakening of Section 2 The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, has severely weakened Section…
LATEST, LAW, NEWS, Redistricting, VIDEO, Voting Rights Act, , , ,
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Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Voting Laws Against Sec. 2 Voting Rights Challenge in Brnovich

By EditorJul 01, 2021
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion today overturning a lower court's decision striking down two Arizona voting laws under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The two laws the court upheld restricted out-of precinct voting and certain ballot collection activities in Arizona. Many experts view this as a severe weakening of the Voting Rights Act's protections for minority voters. The Court did seem to distinguish its interpretation of Section 2 in this case, from how it is applied in minority vote dilution redistricting map cases. Read the opinion here. The two voting laws at issue require…
Case Updates, Casedocs, LATEST, LAW, NEWS, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, ,
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Federal Court Rejects Alabama’s Census Lawsuit

By EditorJun 29, 2021
An Alabama federal district court has rejected the State of Alabama's lawsuit requesting that the U.S. Census Bureau refrain from using the differential privacy method to modify individual census responses and move up the release of census data. Read the opinion here. The case in all likelihood will be appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court writes: "On March 10, 2021, the State of Alabama, Congressman Robert Aderholt, and two Alabama voters (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) brought this suit against the U.S. Department of Commerce (“the Department”), the U.S. Bureau of the Census (“the Bureau”), and certain federal officials (collectively,…
Case Updates, Casedocs, LATEST, LAW, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, , , , , ,
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