Redistricting Functions

Census Bureau Releases Initial Plan for Conducting 2030 Census

By EditorJul 24, 2025

Press Release JULY 23, 2025 — The U.S. Census Bureau today released the first version of the 2030 Census Operational Plan, along with an interactive tool for exploring it. This plan documents the initial, high-level design for the next census, outlining the breadth of work needed to conduct and support a quality population and housing count. Future iterations of the plan will describe the work in more detail. Read the 2030 Census Operational Plan. The plan, “Baseline 1,” provides a snapshot of big-picture activities the Census Bureau will undertake to conduct the 2030 Census: Establish where to count. Identify all the addresses where people could…

Census Data and Geographycensus 2030, dataindepth, News, U.S. Census Bureau

A Maryland Democrat Proposes Countering Out-of-Cycle Partisan Redistricting

By EditorJul 24, 2025

Maryland House of Delegates Majority Leader, Del. David Moon, a Montgomery County Democrat, is drafting legislation designed to counter partisan congressional redistricting efforts in other states. Moon's proposal would mandate that if any other state deviates from the norm of redrawing congressional districts only once every 10 years, Maryland would be required to do the same. This move comes as President Donald Trump is pushing states like Texas to redraw their maps outside the typical post-Census schedule, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott having called a special 30-day legislative session to consider redistricting, among other issues. Moon's "basic idea" is that…

Maryland, Partisan GerrymanderingMaryland, mid-decade redistricting

Florida High Court Affirms 2022 Congressional Map, Eliminating Former Majority-Black District

By EditorJul 18, 2025

The Florida Supreme Court’s 5-1 decision on Thursday keeps Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional map intact, which splits a Jacksonville-to-Tallahassee coalition of Black voters and cements the GOP’s current 20-8 edge in the U.S. House delegation. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz called the eliminated Black district in the 2022 map a “race-based gerrymander” that violated equal-protection principles and said lawmakers had a “superior obligation” to follow federal, not state, law when race and redistricting collide. The lone dissent warned the opinion could render the amendment’s non-diminishment clause “practically ineffective.” The decision signals that Florida’s newly constituted high court…

Race in Redistrictingcaseupdates, Florida

Eighth Circuit Leaves North Dakota Tribes and Section 2 enforcement, waiting on the Supreme Court

By EditorJul 08, 2025

This week, a divided Eighth Circuit has refused to rehear Spirit Lake Tribe v. Howe, leaving intact its May 2025 ruling that bars private plaintiffs from suing under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The order preserves a decision that eliminated a key enforcement pathway for the seven states within the circuit and sets the stage for potential U.S. Supreme Court involvement. The case began when the Spirit Lake Tribe and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians challenged North Dakota’s 2021 legislative map, arguing that splitting their reservations diluted Native voting power. A U.S. District Court Judge…

Case Updates, Voting Rights ActNews, North Dakota

Ohio’s Continuing Redistricting Saga: Here’s an Update on the Congressional Map

By EditorJul 07, 2025

Redistricting in Ohio has been a complex, multifaceted, litigious marvel of line-drawing politics. Here is a timeline and some procedural background about the ongoing struggle with Ohio's congressional redistricting, including what's next. In Ohio, congressional redistricting follows a multi-step process. Initially, the state legislature can adopt a new congressional district map with a three-fifths supermajority vote, comprising at least half of the minority party members. If the legislature fails to act, a seven-member commission takes over, composed of elected officials and legislative appointees. If the commission also fails, the legislature gets a second chance, requiring a three-fifths vote with one-third…

Ohio, Partisan GerrymanderingLatest, Ohio, ohio redistricting commission, policyindepth

Virginia Beach Court Voids Single-Member District Plan on a Technicality

By EditorJul 02, 2025

A Virginia Beach Circuit Court has struck down the city’s 10-district, “10-1” council-and-mayor voting plan, because the city passed the rule change by simple ordinance rather than securing the charter change the state constitution requires. The court's ruling leaves the 2022 and 2024 election outcomes untouched, but bars use of the district map going forward unless the General Assembly (which passed a charter-amendment bill in 2024, but was vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin) or city voters cure the defect. The City Council has already scheduled a November referendum asking residents whether to keep the 10 single-member districts or revert to…

Local RedistrictingVirginia

Watch: NCSL 2030 Census Prep Webinar – Local Update of Census Addresses

By EditorJul 01, 2025

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) hosted a June 2025 webinar entitled, “LUCA: Improving Census Data. Here’s How, Starting Now,” which kicks off preparations for the 2030 census by spotlighting the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA), the Census Bureau’s first preparatory operation in the new cycle. The National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, and the International City/County Management Association co-sponsored the event. The webinar urges states, localities, and tribal nations to "begin scrubbing" the Bureau’s address list now, especially in areas with hidden or non-traditional housing, recent infill, disaster recovery, or rapid growth, so that…

Census Data and Geography, Redistricting PrepBASICS, dataindepth, News

Tarrant County Commissioners Seek to Defend its Commissioner District Map Against Voting Rights Act and 14th Amendment Claims

By EditorJun 30, 2025

Tarrant County, Texas's Republican-led Commissioners Court is poised to vote on a new $250,000 contract with the conservative Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) so that the firm can defend the county against a federal lawsuit filed June 4 by Black and Latino voters claiming the new commissioner map dilutes Black and Latino voting strength. PILF received a $30,000 consulting fee in April to help design the map, which ultimately gives white, non-Hispanic residents, now less than half of the county’s population, majorities in three of four commissioner precincts. Read more at keranews.org Find us on:

Local Redistricting, Texascaseupdates, Tarrant County, Texas, texas redistricting

An Overview of Local Redistricting

By EditorJun 29, 2025

The local redistricting process, where counties, cities, school boards, and special districts redraw their geographic boundaries, shares many of the same legal and procedural frameworks as state‐level redistricting but operates at a far more granular scale. Below is an in‐depth look at how local redistricting unfolds, key hurdles jurisdictions face, proven best practices, a general timeline, and how these local efforts differ from statewide map‐drawing. Overview of Local Redistricting Any elected body based on districts, such as county boards, city councils, school boards, utility districts, even some judicial and special‐purpose bodies, must periodically redraw lines so that each district remains…

Enacting a Redistricting Map, Local RedistrictingBASICS

Review: Local Election Official’s Guide to Redistricting

By EditorJun 29, 2025

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission's (EAC) Local Election Officials’ Guide to Redistricting serves as a practical roadmap for local jurisdictions drawing new district boundaries after each decennial census. Aimed squarely at election administrators, who may lack dedicated redistricting staff, the guide walks readers step by step through the legal requirements, data management needs, public‐engagement obligations, map‐drawing techniques, and the implementation tasks needed to complete a redistricting map. At the heart of the guide is a discussion of the legal framework governing redistricting. It reiterates constitutional mandates for equal representation (“one person, one vote”) and underscores compliance with both Section 2…

Enacting a Redistricting Map, Local RedistrictingBASICS, guides