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

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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Election Data Services Report Gives Context to 2020 Apportionment Results

Election Data Services Report Gives Context to 2020 Apportionment Results

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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Monthly Redistricting Update: April

Monthly Redistricting Update: April

Redistricting News for April includes blockbuster census news, important litigation developments, and news from the California and Maryland redistricting commissions. Census Activity The big news in April was of course the U.S. Census Bureau's long-awaited apportionment results. After a 4 month delay, the Bureau announced the results in a press conference on Monday, April 26 (see video below). The results were full of surprises; notably New York's loss of an additional seat by just 89 people. Check out the Census Data & Technology page for more details on that. Below are links to the data and press releases from the…
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State Court Invalidates the Wisconsin Legislature’s Retainer of Two Law Firms for Redistricting Litigation. Read the Opinion

On Thursday, a Wisconsin Circuit Court voided two contracts state legislative leaders had entered into with two law firms in anticipation of redistricting litigation. The court concluded that both contracts are void because the legislative defendants were not authorized [under the state constitution or the various statutes contemplated in the case] to hire those firms for litigation purposes. Summary judgment was granted and defendants are permanently enjoined from authorizing any further payment on the two contracts for any services performed pursuant to them. Some excerpts from the court decision are below. Click here to read the opinion. Circuit Court: The…
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MALDEF: Civil Rights, Good Government Groups, and Experts, Decry Attempts to Use ACS Data as the Primary Basis for Redistricting

MALDEF: Civil Rights, Good Government Groups, and Experts, Decry Attempts to Use ACS Data as the Primary Basis for Redistricting

A Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) press release denounces the use of survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau as an alternate basis to draw redistricting maps. Various civil rights organizations and experts have released a joint statement expressing concerns about the practice. Read the press release and statement below. PRESS RELEASE Washington, DC – Today, more than 55 civil and human rights groups and expert individuals released a statement to warn against inappropriate uses of data from the American Community Survey (ACS) for the purposes of redistricting. Led by Advancing Justice – AAJC, MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and…
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2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission Hires Marcy Kaplan as Director of Outreach

2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission Hires Marcy Kaplan as Director of Outreach

Today, the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission) announced Marcy Kaplan as the new Director of Outreach. Ms. Kaplan served as the Commission’s Outreach Manager under Executive Director Alvaro Hernandez. The announcement was made during the Commission meeting today. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021CONTACT: FREDY CEJAFredy.Ceja@crc.ca.gov(916) 879-0699PRESS RELEASE2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission Hires Marcy Kaplan as Director of OutreachSACRAMENTO, CA—Today, the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission) announced Marcy Kaplan as the new Director of Outreach. Ms. Kaplan served as the Commission’s Outreach Manager under Executive Director Alvaro Hernandez. The announcement was made during the Commission meeting today. Ms.…
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After Apportionment Results Announced 3 Lawsuits are Filed in 3 States in Anticipation of Redistricting Gridlock

On Tuesday, three lawsuits were filed in state courts in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania alleging "malapportioned" congressional maps (and statehouse maps in the case of Minnesota). Malapportionment challenges seek to invalidate a map for use in future elections until its population is rebalanced among districts through redistricting. All three suits were filed on behalf of voters in the three states by The National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF) chaired by former Attorney General Eric Holder. A copy of each complaint is here: Louisiana, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. The suits were filed in anticipation of gridlock between the legislature and executive branch, especially…
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2020 Census Apportionment Results Delivered to the President

2020 Census Apportionment Results Delivered to the President

The U.S. Census Bureau issued this press release today in addition to holding a press conference announcing the official apportionment results from the 2020 Census. Originally due on December 31, 2020 - the results were delayed due to Covid-19 and litigation surrounding a presidential order to exclude non-citizens from the count. Read the press release below for a summary of the 2020 apportionment and state population results for the states. APRIL 26, 2021 – The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that the 2020 Census shows the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2020, was 331,449,281. The U.S. resident…
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U.S. Census Apportionment Results Are in. Here is the Data

U.S. Census Apportionment Results Are in. Here is the Data

Today the U.S. Census Bureau announced the official apportionment results from the 2020 census. A press release detailing the data is below. In a press conference, the bureau announced that 7 U.S. House seats changed hands between states with Texas being the biggest gainer adding two additional seats. See the press release below for PDFs and data tables of the results. April 26, 2021: 2020 Census Apportionment Results Apportionment is the process of dividing the 435 memberships, or seats, in the U.S. House of Representatives among the 50 states. At the conclusion of each decennial census, the results are used…
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