Dave’s Redistricting App Releases 2020 Upgrades

By EditorMar 11, 2021

Dave’s Redistricting has just launched an upgraded version of DRA 2020 that includes two major advances. You can now create maps using 2020 census shapes, and you can edit maps that use 2020 shapes at the census block level. This tutorial shows you how. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jyKawULHbg

Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, FEATURES, VIDEOdataindepth, redistricting data

Alabama Sues Over Census Data Delay and Differential Privacy

By EditorMar 11, 2021

The state of Alabama becomes the second state (after Ohio) to sue over delayed census redistricting data. The lawsuit also challenges the Census Bureau's use of differential privacy on census results, which uses an algorithm to change some of the actual reported data. Delayed Census Data The complaint filed in federal district court in Alabama on Wednesday, claims the Bureau's decision to delay data delivery until Sept. 30 and its decision to deliver the data to all 50 states simultaneously, was beyond its authority. The Bureau announced on Feb 12 that it would not meet its statutory deadline and would…

Case Updates, Census Data and Geography, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting LitigationAlabama, lpother, STATENEWS

Understanding the Iowa Model for Redistricting

By EditorMar 10, 2021

The "Iowa Model" for redistricting is perhaps the least understood state procedure for redistricting. Iowa is often lauded as the nonpartisan ideal for redrawing boundaries, but in reality, nonpartisan staff draw maps that are advisory in nature and the legislature may direct staff to make changes. Ultimately the legislature can amend the map or simply draw its own. The process however is strictly nonpartisan in the sense that no political data is used in drawing maps and since the statute establishing the process was enacted in 1980, the state legislature has adopted maps drawn by staff. Below is the National…

Enacting a Redistricting Map, FEATURES, Redistricting, Redistricting CriteriaAnalysis, BASICS, Iowa

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…

LAW, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting, Voting Rights ActAnalysis, HR4, lawindepth, lpvra, Preclearance, Voting Rights Act

Census Bureau Director’s Blog Post: “Anomalies” in Data are Not as Scary as they Sound

By EditorMar 09, 2021

Michael Thieme, Assistant Director for Decennial Census Programs discusses the back-office processing of census data "anomalies" and what that really means. The article, by Thieme's admission, is meant to address the confusion surrounding the term and explain that anomalies are "a signal that the quality checks on the census are working." He gives a detailed and informative look at just what anomalies really are and how the Census Bureau addresses them, including the various categories of anomalies. Thieme also assures readers that "we have not found any anomalies that are impossible to fix." Read the blog entry here.

Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, FEATURESAnalysis, census, census 2020, dataindepth, redistricting data, U.S. Census Bureau

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…

Case Updates, LATEST, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Commissions, State Lawslpother, new york, redistricting commissions, STATENEWS

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…

NEWS, Redistricting Litigation, State Lawsidaho

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