Federal Court Rejects a Citizenship Question for the 2020 Census

Federal Court Rejects a Citizenship Question for the 2020 Census

By EditorJan 15, 2019
A New York federal district court has rejected the administration's bid to place a citizenship question on the upcoming 2020 census. The U.S. Department of Commerce, which is the main defendant in the lawsuit, will most likely appeal this decision but this just deepens the legal, financial and operational challenges that the Census Bureau must endure just under 15 months away from the 2020 census, the data from which, states and local governments will use to redraw electoral lines. NPR lists the possible effects that the current government shutdown and this lawsuit will have on census 2020 planning here. Read…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, LATEST, LAW, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Strategy and Politics, , , , , ,
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Georgia’s Mid-Decade Redistricting Causes a Stir

Georgia’s Mid-Decade Redistricting Causes a Stir

By EditorMar 20, 2017
Georgia - Traditionally reserved for the beginning of the decade, redistricting is on the table again in Georgia as a proposal for new House districts has cleared that chamber and is being considered in the Georgia senate.  As a practical matter, redistricting usually only happens once in a decade.  Although, in most states there is no law that would limit it to that, the task is such a delicate, complex and highly controversial one that most do not dare to go through it any more than they have to. Georgia's republican controlled legislature has got the attention of former attorney general Eric Holder,…
NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Strategy and Politics, , , , , ,
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Meet The Democrat’s Secret Redistricting Weapon in 2020

Meet The Democrat’s Secret Redistricting Weapon in 2020

By EditorJan 05, 2017
Watch MSNBC interview Kelly Ward, former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee about her new role as the Democrat party's answer to the wildly successful national Republican redistricting strategy.   Ward is interim executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, - a project of President Obama and former Attorney General, Eric Holder - which will be gearing up for the next redistricting battle in 2020. Her interview begins around the 4:00 min mark.  
Redistricting, Strategy and Politics
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Census Bureau Begins 2015 Testing in 2 States

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
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Census 2020 Starts Now!

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
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Santa Fe Looking for a Few Good Geographers

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

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 Politics,
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