Redistricting Functions

A Proposal for a Nevada Independent Redistricting Commission May be Headed for the Ballot. Again

By EditorMar 22, 2021

In Nevada last Wednesday a proposed constitutional amendment was introduced in the legislature that would establish a seven-member independent redistricting commission to draw the state's congressional and state legislative districts. The amendment, if adopted would prohibit partisan line-drawing and require competitive districts. The senate and house minority and majority leaders would appoint four commission members and those four would appoint the remaining three members, who must be unaffiliated voters or from a third political party. The joint resolution would still need to be approved in two consecutive sessions of the legislature and by a majority of voters. In 2011 a…

NEWS, Official Redistricting Entities, Redistricting, Redistricting CommissionsNevada, STATENEWS

This Online Map Tool Identifies the Impact of Census Data Delays in Every State

By Michelle DavisMar 19, 2021

Use this super handy map of the U.S. to browse which states are in the most trouble when it comes to delayed census redistricting data. Developed by the Electoral Innovation Lab at the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, this interactive map helps us to easily identify at least 11 states in the hot seat as of today. State staffers who would like to monitor possible responses to the data delay can use this map to identify similarly situated states. The lab plans to update the map as states make adjustments to their timelines or if the census timeline changes. From the Princeton…

Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, FEATURES, LATEST, Redistricting, Redistricting Prepdataindepth, national

Michigan Redistricting Commission Approves 16 Public Hearing Sites

By EditorMar 18, 2021

Press Release (Mar 17, 2021): The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) has approved 16 public hearing sites to solicit input from Michigan residents about the redistricting process for congressional, state senate, and state house districts. Before drawing any lines, the MICRC is required to hold at least 10 public hearings. Per the Michigan Constitution, the purposes for the public hearings are to: Inform the public about the redistricting process.Share the purpose and responsibilities of the Commission.Solicit information from the public about potential redistricting plans for U.S. Congressional, Michigan House, and Michigan Senate districts. The public hearings are tentatively scheduled…

NEWS, Official Redistricting Entities, Redistricting, Redistricting CommissionsMichigan, STATENEWS

Maine: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

By EditorMar 17, 2021

Desena v. Maine, No. 1:11-cv-117 (D. Me.) A 1975 amendment to the state constitution required Maine to reapportion its districts every 10 years, starting in 1983. After the 2010 census data was completed, Maine’s two congressional districts saw an increased population differential. Instead of having a gap of 23 residents between the two congressional districts as was the case after the previous redistricting cycle, these two districts varied by 8,669 residents. Plaintiffs, who were residents of the larger district, sued the state on March 28, 2011, alleging that the plan from 2003, which was in effect for the 2012 election…

FEATURES, Redistricting Equal Population, Redistricting Litigation, Uncategorized2010, lawindepth, Maine

NCSL Overview: Reallocating Incarcerated Persons for Redistricting

By EditorMar 17, 2021

In this recent article, the National Conference of State Legislatures gives an overview of the fairly recent practice of prisoner reallocation in redistricting. This process refers to counting prisoners at their home address for redistricting purposes instead of the prison's address - which is what the census does. Prisoner reallocation involves obtaining records from prison officials and careful adjustment of official census data files. This overview explains the practice and how it relates to representation. Since this article was first published, Illinois became the tenth state to mandate prisoner reallocation beginning in 2030. Feb. 18, 2021: States redistrict their legislative…

FEATURES, Redistricting, Redistricting PrisonersAnalysis, policyindepth, Prison gerrymandering, prisoner reallocation, prisoners

How the Census Bureau Plans to Ensure an Accurate Census Group Quarters Count Despite Covid-19

By EditorMar 16, 2021

In this latest post from the Random Samplings Blog, Deborah Stempowski, Asst. Director for Decennial Census Programs, Operations and Schedule Mgmt, and James Christy, Asst. Director for Field Operations discuss the impact of Covid-19 on Group Quarters Data and how the Bureau has adjusted its post-data collection operations to ensure the accuracy of counts in colleges, group homes, prisons, and other group housing. Read the post below. 2020 Census Group Quarters: As we continue processing 2020 Census results, we’d like to provide more information on how we count people living in group quarters (GQs), such as nursing homes, military barracks…

Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, RedistrictingAnalysis, dataindepth

U.S. Census Bureau Suggests Possibility of Redistricting Data in August, but with a catch.

By Michelle DavisMar 16, 2021

In a recent court filing and press release, the U.S. Census Bureau appears to be open to the possibility of delivering untabulated data by mid to late August to requesting states if they take the responsibility for reporting the data accurately. In its litigation in federal court in Ohio, which sued the Bureau for missing its statutory deadline to provide redistricting data to states - the Bureau filed a declaration explaining in detail its operational limitations for delivering the data files before the Sept 30 deadline it announced weeks ago. In doing so, it acknowledged that it was physically possible…

Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, LATEST, Redistrictingdataindepth, national

Florida: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

By EditorMar 15, 2021

Florida’s litigation in the 2010 cycle focused primarily on the “Fair Districts Amendments” added to the state constitution by initiative in 2010. There were two nearly identical amendments: one setting standards applicable to congressional districts (art. III, § 20), and the other setting standards applicable to state legislative districts (art. III, § 21). The amendments spawned a flood of litigation challenging the amendments themselves, plans adopted under the new standards, and—in the process—plaintiffs’ attempts to determine the intent of the legislators who adopted the plans.. The new constitutional standards are set out in two tiers. The first-tier standards have equal…

NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting LitigationFlorida

Here’s the Compressed 2021 Timeline for State Congressional Maps if Congress Passes HR1

By Jeffrey M. WiceMar 15, 2021

H.R. 1—the For the People Act—mandates significant changes to states’ congressional redistricting processes beginning with the post-2020 census redistricting in 2021. Under H.R. 1, a state’s congressional redistricting plan must be approved by a 15-member independent redistricting commission. The first six Commissioners are randomly chosen from a 36-member Selection Pool, and those six Commissioners then appoint the final nine. If a state does not form the required commission, a federal three-judge court will draw the district lines. I along with my colleague and Fellow at the New York Law School, Nicholas P. Stabile, have drafted this quick timeline for what…

Enacting a Redistricting Map, LATEST, RedistrictingAnalysis, enacting, HR1, IN-DEPTH, Independent Redistricting Commission, lpother, national, policyindepth

West Virginia: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

By EditorMar 12, 2021

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision and upheld West Virginia's 2011 congressional map with population deviations between districts of .79 percent. Tennant v. Jefferson County, No. 11-1184, 567 U.S. 758 (Sep. 25, 2012) The Jefferson County Commission and residents of Jefferson County alleged that West Virginia’s 2011 congressional plan violated the “one-person, one-vote” principle of Article I, § 2, of the U.S. Constitution. West Virginia created a redistricting plan that had a maximum population deviation of 0.79 percent (the variance between the smallest and largest districts). The State conceded that it could have made a plan with less deviation,…

NEWS, Redistricting Litigation, State LawsWest Virginia