February Redistricting Update

February Redistricting Update

By EditorMar 02, 2021
A recap of developments in redistricting for the last month. If you weren't paying attention, you likely missed a lot of activity in the redistricting realm this February. The biggest news is the first two redistricting lawsuits have been filed in courts even before any line-drawing has begun. Read on for this and other developments from the Census Bureau, California's redistricting commission, and congress. Litigation States have made the preparations to begin the redistricting process but there is no census data available yet to start the task. At least two states are not taking this laying down and have filed…
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Ohio Fires First Salvo in Court Over Delayed Census Redistricting Data

By EditorMar 01, 2021
On Thursday, Ohio became the first state to sue the U.S. Census Bureau over late redistricting data. After the Bureau announced it would delay the release of the data on the statutory deadline of March 31, postponing release to Sept 30, the Ohio Attorney General filed suit in federal district court to request data delivery for Ohio either on the statutory date or on the earliest date possible. The complaint challenges the decision of the Census Bureau to delay data delivery to the States due to processing delays caused by Covid-19 and its focus on delivering apportionment data to the…
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Minnesota Lawsuit Asks Court to Get a Jump on State Redistricting

By EditorMar 01, 2021
The delayed census redistricting data delivery schedule has put many states in a bind as they run up against state constitutional and statutory deadlines for redistricting. In Minnesota, the deadline for drawing a congressional map is in February of 2022, but the state has a decades-long history of not accomplishing the task. A new lawsuit filed in state court seeks to get ahead of the problem. According to the lawsuit filed on the 19th, the situation is dire. Population projections indicate that the state may lose a congressional seat in the upcoming apportionment scheduled to be released later this Spring.…
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Illinois Becomes the 10th State to Count Prisoners at Home for Redistricting

Illinois Becomes the 10th State to Count Prisoners at Home for Redistricting

By EditorFeb 25, 2021
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law on Tuesday a measure that would require state prisoners to be counted at their home address for redistricting beginning in 2030. Illinois joins nine other states with similar provisions, they are California, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and Washington State. The process of counting prisoners at home versus the prison is "prisoner reallocation." Read the Prison Policy Initatives' press release below. For immediate release — On Tuesday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed an omnibus criminal justice package that (among several victories) makes Illinois the tenth state to end prison…
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California Redistricting Commission Parts with Executive Director

California Redistricting Commission Parts with Executive Director

By EditorFeb 23, 2021
In a Feb. 18 press release, the Commission advised that it had accepted Executive Director Daniel Claypool's, resignation after a closed meeting on the 16th. No further details were given on the reason for Claypool's departure, but the portion of the meeting on the 16th that was publicly aired included a rather lengthy and robust discussion about the commission's outreach budget. You can view the meeting below. The discussion begins at 3:42. https://youtu.be/4qAAb9NW6sk Here is the relevant text of the press release: 2020 California Citizens Redistricting CommissionAccepts Resignation of Executive Director SACRAMENTO, CA—Today, the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission)…
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Redistricting Commissions are Now in a Majority of States

Redistricting Commissions are Now in a Majority of States

By EditorFeb 22, 2021
In case you missed it, as of this January when Maryland’s Governor announced the creation of an advisory redistricting commission, 26 states now have some form of a redistricting commission. Other recent additions include Ohio and Virginia. Commissions with Power to Enact a Map These commissions have the initial (and sometimes ultimate authority) to enact a redistricting map for a state. This includes “citizen” or “independent” commissions, in addition to appointed or hybrid commissions. AlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoHawaiiIdahoMichiganMissouriMontanaNew JerseyOhioPennsylvaniaWashingtonSome but not all of these commissions listed have authority over “both” congressional and legislative maps. Advisory or Backup Commissions Advisory commissions go through the…
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CA Redistricting Commission Reviewing Applications for Litigation Team and Voting Rights Counsel

CA Redistricting Commission Reviewing Applications for Litigation Team and Voting Rights Counsel

By Michelle DavisFeb 17, 2021
The voting rights act counsel would provide legal support to the Commission, staff and consultants regarding the redistricting process, including the review of proposed district maps; development, use and analysis of Racially Polarized Voting (“RPV”) data, preparation of legal memoranda and general legal advice to the Commission. The commission is also seeking a litigation team in the event that any or all of its redistricting maps (Congressional, and State Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization) are challenged in state or federal court. To that end, the commission is seeking is seeking “statements of qualifications” (SOQ) from attorneys, including law firms…
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Is Major Redistricting Reform From Congress On the Way? A Look at H.R. 1

Is Major Redistricting Reform From Congress On the Way? A Look at H.R. 1

By Michelle DavisFeb 17, 2021
Congress has made redistricting reform in 2021 a top priority. To that end H.R.1 (S.1) was introduced in the current congress and is poised to establish major election reforms should it pass. Nested within H.R. 1 is “subtitle E”, or the “Redistricting Reform Act of 2021.”  The Brennan Center for Justice explains that the purpose of the Act is to combat racial injustice and partisan influence in the redrawing of congressional districts.  Regardless of one’s policy position on the Act, all can agree that the legislation is a dramatic change from the redistricting status quo. Despite this fact, not many…
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The Census Bureau Sets a Target Date for Long-awaited Redistricting Data Delivery to the States

The Census Bureau Sets a Target Date for Long-awaited Redistricting Data Delivery to the States

By EditorFeb 12, 2021
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today the target date for delivering redistricting data to the states; the final component needed to redraw congressional and legislative lines. The relevant excerpts from the bureau's official blog are below. The press release is here. James Whitehorne, Chief of the Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office, U.S. Census Bureau: If this were a typical decade, we would be on the verge of delivering the first round of redistricting data from the 2020 Census. Our original plan was to deliver the data in state groupings starting Feb. 18, 2021 and finishing by March 31, 2021.  …
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What’s New About Redistricting in 2020? – It’s Going To Start Late

What’s New About Redistricting in 2020? – It’s Going To Start Late

By EditorFeb 11, 2021
Really late. The pre-Covid decades were very much predictable in terms of census data releases. The apportionment data, pursuant to statute, would be delivered to the President and Congress by Dec. 31, and redistricting was delivered to the states on a rolling basis throughout March. States with early primaries in that year would get their data first. By April 1 every state would have all of the data needed to begin the redistricting process. This decade, the census data timeline has been delayed and is riddled with uncertainty. The apportionment data was promised by the Census Bureau in January, then…
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