POLICY and PRACTICE

Census Bureau Begins 2015 Testing in 2 States

By EditorFeb 23, 2015

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Census Bureau will begin the 2015 Census Test in the Savannah, Ga., area on Feb. 23 by allowing residents to register for the upcoming test using its "Notify Me" website. Residents across 20 counties in Georgia and South Carolina will have the opportunity to specify how they would like to be notified to participate in the count beginning on March 23. Traditionally, the Census Bureau has communicated through the mail. However, the "Notify Me" website provides an additional option for people to register their preferred contact information at census.gov/2015 to be notified…

Strategy and Politics

Census 2020 Starts Now!

By EditorFeb 04, 2015

It seems as though census 2010 was just yesterday but with the New Year, the 2020 census timeline is upon us; the official Census Bureau 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program begins later this year. The program’s five phase process leads up to and dictates the operational schedule for delivering crucial population data that states use for redistricting. Here is a quick summary of those phases: Block Boundary Suggestion Project Beginning in the second half of 2015, participating states will appoint liaisons that will receive suggestions from state and local officials on how census block geography should look in their jurisdictions.…

Redistricting, Strategy and Politics

Santa Fe Looking for a Few Good Geographers

By EditorJan 19, 2015

The City of Santa Fe, New Mexico is looking for citizens to fill the seven spots on its Citizens' Redistricting Commission. The body will be in charge of redrawing Santa Fe's city council districts. The city is looking for a geographer or cartographer to sit on the commission to help with the challenge of redrawing political boundaries after a recent annexation. Read local coverage here.

Redistricting Commissions, Strategy and PoliticsNew Mexico, Santa Fe

Listen: Supreme Court Oral Argument in Alabama Racial Gerrymander Case

By EditorDec 08, 2014

Listen to the Supreme Court's oral arguments in the consolidated cases; Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama and Alabama Democratic Conference v. Alabama. Democratic lawmakers in the Alabama legislature claim the Republican-led legislature packed Black voters into state legislative districts to dilute their voting power resulting in an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The court heard oral arguments on November 12th 2014.

Equal Protection, LAW, NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Race in Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race RulesAlabama, scotus, States

2020 Vision : A Noteworthy Prediction for Redistricting in the Next Cycle

By EditorJan 31, 2014

We are just three years into the decade long redistricting cycle that began with the 2010 census. It is a cycle that begins with sorting through winners and losers of the apportionment lottery as some states gain seats while others lose. Next, politics reigns supreme as states redraw political boundaries and proceed with the delicate task of drawing a map that can pass muster both legally and politically. The third phase, which lasts most of the decade, consists of meticulous judicial examination of maps and perhaps usable precedent, just in time for the next round. RealClearPolitics’ Senior elections analyst Sean…

Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rules, Strategy and Politics2020, majority-minority districts

In Malapportionment Claims, Its All About Timing and Context

By EditorApr 16, 2013

The 2010 census brought good news to Latinos in Pennsylvania. Significant gains where made the Latino population in the Philadelphia area and other regions of the state. This would mean increased representation in the state legislature. Imagine the disappointment when the state elections were held in 2012 under the 2001 reapportionment map. The Legislative Reapportionment Commission had convened and drawn a new state legislative map in 2011, but the state Supreme Court found it constitutionally lacking. With no redistricted map in place, the court allowed the 2001 map to be used for the 2012 state elections. Some Latino groups…

Equal Protection, Redistricting, Redistricting Criteria, Redistricting Litigation, Strategy and PoliticsBASICS, Pennsylvania

Redistricting Conundrums, Chicago Style

By EditorApr 04, 2013

The Chicago City Council approved a new ward map in 2012 amid the usual accusations and claims of partisan dealing. There were complaints that wards 2 and 36 were vicious gerrymanders and good government groups complained of little transparency during the process. Criticisms like these are typical after any map is enacted since redistricting is by its very nature; a political process. What makes Chicago’s redistricting different? The city council took the extra step of making the new ward map effective “immediately.” Local elections are not scheduled to take place until 2015, but council members implemented a policy making the…

Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Strategy and PoliticsChicago, Illinois