What Does Differential Privacy in Census Data Mean for the Task of Redistricting?

What Does Differential Privacy in Census Data Mean for the Task of Redistricting?

By Michelle DavisSep 08, 2020
The law requires that any identifying information you give the Census Bureau be kept confidential for 75 yrs, but simply removing your information from what is published is no longer enough. Big data and powerful computing technology now allow almost anyone to "reconstruct" the seemingly anonymized information. That means it is increasingly possible to identify who you are, where you live, and other information from the census results. Here's how the Census Bureau plans to combat that. New for the 2020 census, the U.S. Census Bureau will be using a process called differential privacy to inject "statistical noise" into the…
Census Data and Geography, FEATURES, Redistricting, Redistricting Prep, , , , ,
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Video: Gerrymandering and Reform Explained in 13 Minutes

Video: Gerrymandering and Reform Explained in 13 Minutes

By Michelle DavisSep 01, 2020
Need a quick primer on gerrymandering and reform? This just-released video produced by CNBC reviews the entire redistricting landscape regarding gerrymandering and reform efforts over the past two decades. All in just 13 minutes. While it makes the case for reform, it does a swell job at describing many topics. Watch it for a succinct description and review of various hot button issues in redistricting including partisan gerrymandering, redistricting commissions, the Voting Rights Act, prison gerrymandering, census data and citizenship. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s6erd5MbEY&feature=youtu.be
FEATURES, LATEST, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Race Rules, REFORM, VIDEO, , , ,
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Understanding the 2020 Census Disclosure Avoidance Policy. A.K.A. “Differential Privacy”

Understanding the 2020 Census Disclosure Avoidance Policy. A.K.A. “Differential Privacy”

By Michelle DavisSep 01, 2020
The Census Bureau is mandated by the U.S. constitution to complete a count of the population every decade. Few realize however, that Title 13, Sec. 9 of the U.S. Code also requires the Bureau to "keep personally identifiable information confidential for 72 years." With the growth of Big Data, this privacy mandate has become a much more complicated task, thanks to "database reconstruction," a method of partially reconstructing a private dataset from public aggregate information. Consider the well-known example below of how one data scientist obtained former Governor William Weld's medical history from aggregate data released to the Massachusetts Group…
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Basics: California Citizens Redistricting Commission Selection Process

Basics: California Citizens Redistricting Commission Selection Process

By Michelle DavisSep 01, 2020
The California Citizen's Redistricting Commission (CRC) selected its final members for its 14-member body on August 7. CRC will redraw the lines for California's Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts, based on information gathered during the 2020 census. The CRC must draw the districts in conformity with strict, nonpartisan rules designed to create districts of relatively equal population. The CRC's selection process is a multi-layered one conducted by the State Auditor's Office. It designed to be a mostly nonpartisan, and partly random process in which eight members are selected initially. Those initial eight members must agree on…
Official Redistricting Entities, Redistricting, Redistricting Commissions, , ,
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Second State Invalidates Redistricting Map Based on Common State Constitutional Provision

Second State Invalidates Redistricting Map Based on Common State Constitutional Provision

By Michelle DavisSep 05, 2019
September 5, 2019 “the Free Elections Clause of the North Carolina Constitution guarantees that all elections must be conducted freely and honestly to ascertain, fairly and truthfully, the will of the People and that this is a fundamental right of North Carolina citizens, a compelling governmental interest, and a cornerstone of our democratic form of government.” These are the words of the three-judge panel in North Carolina's state trial court. Following Pennsylvania's lead in League of Women Voters of Pa. v. Pennsylvania, which invalidated that state's congressional map - The North Carolina court gave legislative leaders until September 17th to…
FEATURES, LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting Gerrymanders, State Laws, Uncategorized, , , , ,
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Do Independent Redistricting Commissions Produce Neutral Maps?

Do Independent Redistricting Commissions Produce Neutral Maps?

By Michelle DavisJul 02, 2019
After the Supreme Court's exit from the partisan gerrymandering business last week, the focus will likely turn to the states. The call for independent redistricting commissions will be key to any reform strategy. A group of government and political science professors provided some insight into the question of whether these commissions actually work to produce nonpartisan, or "less" partisan maps. Their preliminary evidence suggests that it does. "The nonpartisan-drawn maps tended to be more symmetrical on average after redistricting. In other words, they tended to treat both parties similarly. This suggests that nonpartisan bodies have successfully neutralized partisan bias, as…
FEATURES, Redistricting Gerrymanders, REFORM, , , , ,
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The Supreme Court’s Less Than Graceful Exit from the Thicket

By Michelle DavisJun 27, 2019
The long-awaited partisan gerrymandering decision has come down from the nation's highest court. A 5-4 majority decided to exit the "political thicket" and leave the policing of political gerrymandered redistricting maps to the States, commissions, congress; anybody, except the nine of them. Below are brief excerpts (with explanation) from the both the majority opinion and a passionate dissent from Justice Kagan in the consolidated cases of Lamone v. Benisek, ET Al. (Maryland) and Rucho v. Common Cause, ET Al. (North Carolina). Read the entire case here. The Court: Partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal…
LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, , , , , , , , , ,
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Listen to Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Maryland Partisan Gerrymandering Case

Listen to Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Maryland Partisan Gerrymandering Case

By Michelle DavisApr 25, 2019
On March 26, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Benesik v. Lamone, a partisan gerrymandering case from Maryland. Click here for background on this case and its companion case, Rucho v. Common Cause (North Carolina). For a pre oral symposium hosted by SCOTUSBlog, click here. Click here to listen to oral argument for Rucho v. Common Cause.
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Listen to Supreme Court Oral Arguments in the North Carolina Partisan Gerrymandering Case

Listen to Supreme Court Oral Arguments in the North Carolina Partisan Gerrymandering Case

By Michelle DavisApr 25, 2019
On March 26, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Rucho v. Common Cause, a partisan gerrymandering case from North Carolina.Click here for background on this case and its companion case, Benesik v. Lamone (Maryland). For a pre oral symposium hosted by ScotusBlog, click here. Click here to listen to oral argument in its companion case, Benesik v. Lamone.
FEATURES, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, VIDEO, , , , , , , , , ,
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SCOTUSblog Symposium in Anticipation of Oral Arguments in Partisan Gerrymandering Cases

By Michelle DavisFeb 25, 2019
. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in two key partisan gerrymandering cases on March 26; one from Maryland (Benesik v. Lamone) and one from North Carolina (Rucho v. Common Cause). In preparation for these arguments, the editors at SCOTUSblog hosted this pre-argument symposium featuring a group of experts on redistricting law. Here is a quick summary of each contributor's essay. You can click to read each article in full. . Justin Levitt: Suggests that the unconstitutionality of excessive partisan gerrymandering follows from the fact that there is widespread agreement (in the legal community) that any State law that…
FEATURES, LAW, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, , , , ,
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