Wisconsin Lawsuit Challenges Legislatures’ Move to Retain Law Firms for Future Redistricting Challenges

By EditorMar 11, 2021
In most states, post-redistricting litigation is a foregone conclusion. In anticipation of just that, the Majority Leader of the Wisconsin Senate and the Speaker of the House entered into contracts for legal services with two law firms on behalf of the legislature in preparation for inevitable legal challenges after maps are enacted. On Wednesday, a group of citizens sued on behalf of taxpayers to void those contracts as unauthorized expenditures of public funds. At issue is a state statute that allows the speaker and majority leader to obtain legal counsel other than from the Wisconsin department of justice, with the…
Case Updates, NEWS, Redistricting Litigation,
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2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission Expands Public Input Tool to Chinese and Tagalog

2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission Expands Public Input Tool to Chinese and Tagalog

By EditorMar 11, 2021
PRESS RELEASE: March 11, 2021 SACRAMENTO, CA—Today, the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission) and the California Statewide Database announced the availability of the online Communities of Interest (COI) mapping tool in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Tagalog, in addition to English and Spanish. Every 10 years, after the federal government publishes updated census information, California must redraw the boundaries of its Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts so that the state’s population is evenly allocated among the new districts. When the Commission creates new districts, it must follow certain guidelines, one of which is…
NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Commissions, Redistricting Criteria
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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…
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Understanding the Iowa Model for Redistricting

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 Criteria, ,
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What Will an Updated Voting Rights Act Preclearance Formula Look Like?

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

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.
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New York State Officials Sued Over Funding for Redistricting Commission

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…
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Idaho: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

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 Laws
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South Carolina: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

South Carolina: Review of Litigation in the 2010 Redistricting Cycle

By EditorMar 09, 2021
South Carolina was involved in one major challenge to its congressional and state legislative maps adopted after the 2010 census. A federal trial court declined to invalidate the maps despite the plaintiff's claims of racial gerrymandering and Voting Rights Act (VRA) violations. Interestingly, the trial court's decision came shortly before the Supreme Court's decision in Shelby County, which drastically changed how racial considerations are viewed by courts under Section 5 of the VRA. Backus v. South Carolina, No. 3:11-cv-3120 (D.S.C. Mar. 9, 2012), aff’d, No. 11-1404 (U.S. Oct. 1, 2012) (mem.) Registered voters in South Carolina challenged the General Assembly’s state and congressional redistricting plans…
NEWS, Redistricting Litigation
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