Census Watchdog Flags Risks to the 2030 Count

Census Watchdog Flags Risks to the 2030 Count

By EditorJun 18, 20260 Comments
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns that the Census Bureau, having narrowed the scope of its 2026 Census Test, may finalize important parts of the 2030 count's design before it has evidence that those methods actually work. Released June 4, 2026, the report describes that the Bureau has reduced planned test sites from six to two and 19 planned operational activities to nine, leaving fewer opportunities to evaluate the new approaches the agency hopes to use at the end of the decade. These preparations matter far beyond the test itself, because the once-a-decade count determines…
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Why the 2030 Census LUCA Program Matters to Redistricting and GIS Staff

Why the 2030 Census LUCA Program Matters to Redistricting and GIS Staff

By EditorMay 16, 2026
Most redistricting discussions focus on the maps, who draws them, what criteria they must meet, and how they will hold up in court. But every redistricting map built from 2030 Census data will ultimately rest on a foundation that GIS and redistricting staff rarely talk about: the Census Bureau's residential address list. The Local Update of Census Addresses operation is the first to occur in every decennial census cycle, and it gives state, tribal, and local governments their only opportunity to directly help ensure an accurate enumeration by reviewing and submitting updates or corrections to the confidential address list before…
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Five Census Bureau Tools Every Local Election Official Should Bookmark

Five Census Bureau Tools Every Local Election Official Should Bookmark

By EditorMay 15, 2026
The Census Bureau offers a growing suite of free, browser-based tools that are directly useful for local election administration and redistricting work, and most officials don't know they exist. All five tools are free, require no account or login, and are updated regularly with the latest ACS and decennial census data. QuickFacts: The first stop for any local official should be QuickFacts, which delivers instant demographic snapshots; population, age, race, income, housing, etc., for any county, city, or town in the country with no data expertise required. TigerWeb: Next is TIGERweb, the Census Bureau's interactive boundary map viewer. TIGERweb allows users to…
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What Is a Shapefile and Why Do You Need One for Redistricting?

What Is a Shapefile and Why Do You Need One for Redistricting?

By EditorMay 14, 2026
If you have spent any time around redistricting software or GIS professionals, you have probably heard the term "shapefile" and possibly nodded along without knowing what it means. A shapefile is a digital file format that stores the geographic boundaries of a defined area as a map layer. Think of it as the outline of a jurisdiction, your city limits, your county boundaries, your voting precincts, your census tracts, all saved in a format that mapping software can read, display, and analyze. TIGER boundary files are shapefiles from the Census Bureau that are important for drawing legally compliant district maps.…
Census Data and Geography
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Why the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) Matters for Local Redistricting Officials

Why the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) Matters for Local Redistricting Officials

By EditorDec 15, 2025
Every year, the U.S. Census Bureau invites tribal, state, and general-purpose local governments, counties, cities, towns, and minor civil divisions to verify that its legal-boundary file is still accurate. This verification program is the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS). For local officials, keeping your boundaries current is not just cartographic housekeeping. BAS data feeds the American Community Survey, the Population Estimates Program, and the TIGER/Line layers that nearly all redistricting platforms rely on. Accurate boundary lines also protect your jurisdiction’s share of the roughly $2.8 trillion in annual federal funds that are allocated by geography. Who should participate and what’s…
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New GOP Lawsuit Targets Differential Privacy and Group Quarters Imputation, Claiming Flawed 2020 Census Data

New GOP Lawsuit Targets Differential Privacy and Group Quarters Imputation, Claiming Flawed 2020 Census Data

By EditorOct 11, 2025
A federal lawsuit challenging the underlying data of the 2020 U.S. Census has been filed in a Florida federal court by two young Republican organizations. The plaintiffs in this case, with potential national implications, are the University of South Florida College Republicans and its President, Michael Fusella, individually, along with the Pinellas County Young Republicans and its President, Parisa Mousavi, individually. The addresses associated with these plaintiffs fall within Florida's 14th Congressional District (represented by a Democrat) and the 15th Congressional District (represented by a Republican). The suit names the federal officials responsible for the data collection as defendants: Howard…
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Census Bureau Dissolves Three Outside Advisory Panels for 2030 Planning and Redistricting

Census Bureau Dissolves Three Outside Advisory Panels for 2030 Planning and Redistricting

By EditorAug 14, 2025
The U.S. Census Bureau disbanded three advisory committees this past June: the Census Scientific Advisory Committee (CSAC), the 2030 Census Advisory Committee, and the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations. Members of these committees serve without pay (aside from travel reimbursement), a point reflected in CSAC’s charter and Federal Register notices. The 2030 advisory committee itself was created and filled less than a year earlier (23 members named in March 2024), underscoring how abruptly the change arrived. These panels review census design choices, methods, and communications plans during the decennial’s multi-year build-out. Census.gov’s pages describe the committees’…
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Census Bureau Releases Initial Plan for Conducting 2030 Census

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

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…
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Census Bureau to Hold Webinar on Release of 2020 Census Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File B

Census Bureau to Hold Webinar on Release of 2020 Census Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File B

By EditorJul 16, 2024
July 09, 2024 Press Release Number CB24-CN.16 JULY 9, 2024 —The U.S. Census Bureau will hold a prerelease webinar July 23 to discuss information about the 2020 Census Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File B (Detailed DHC-B) scheduled for public release Aug. 1. This data product provides household type and tenure (whether the household is owner or renter-occupied) information, including total household counts, for approximately 1,500 detailed race and ethnicity groups and detailed American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) tribes and villages. Data will be available for the nation, states, counties, places (cities and towns), census tracts, and American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian (AIANNH)…
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