Federal District Court Issues Dismissal of Census Bureau Lawsuit with Detailed Stipulations for Both Parties

By EditorApr 23, 2021
The U.S. Census Bureau has reached an agreement with the various plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit seeking to ensure census data accuracy by asking the court to enforce extended timelines for processing 2020 census data. The lawsuit was originally filed to enjoin the bureau from ending its counting operations one month before its previously scheduled deadline of October 31, 2020. Further requests by plaintiffs sought to block the bureau from attempting to modify apportionment data to only include citizens and ensure that data accuracy did not suffer as the bureau sought to meet statutory deadlines for reporting data earlier in…
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16 States Join in Alabama’s Challenge to the Census Bureau’s Data Privacy Program

By EditorApr 14, 2021
On Monday, 16 states joined Alabama in deriding the U.S. Census Bureau's newly adapted data privacy policy (aka differential privacy) which uses statistical algorithms to distort raw census data before it is released to states and the public. The states who jointly filed as amici in Alabama's lawsuit against the Bureau are Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Utah. The amicus brief filed on behalf of these states lists three "major harms" caused by differential privacy. 1) local redistricting cannot be conducted with any reasonable accuracy; 2)…
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Oregon Supreme Court Establishes Revised Deadlines for Legislative Maps

By EditorApr 10, 2021
On Friday, the Oregon Supreme Court issued new deadlines for state legislative redistricting in light of the census redistricting data delay. The order extends state constitutional deadlines for legislative redistricting by three months. It does not address congressional redistricting in the state, which is governed by state statute. Read the opinion here. In its opinion and order, the court explained that the revised deadlines will enable the Legislative Assembly and the Secretary of State to fulfill their constitutional duties "without significantly affecting the rights of voters or interfering with the 2022 general election cycle." Practically speaking it observed that a…
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Update: Alabama Court Grants 3-Judge Panel in Census Lawsuit

Update: Alabama Court Grants 3-Judge Panel in Census Lawsuit

By EditorMar 29, 2021
An Alabama federal district court granted a Mar 8 request for a 3-judge panel by plaintiffs to consider the differential privacy claims raised in a lawsuit filed by the state of Alabama against the U.S. Census Bureau. Federal statute allows a plaintiff to request a 3-judge panel to consider any case involving the use of any statistical method used in the decennial U.S. census in possible violation of the Constitution or other provision of law. This development ensures a fast-track to the U.S. Supreme Court should one of the parties appeal the panel's decision. Read the court's order. In granting…
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Update: Minnesota Court Issues Order to Appoint Special Redistricting Panel if Legislature Fails to Redistrict

Update: Minnesota Court Issues Order to Appoint Special Redistricting Panel if Legislature Fails to Redistrict

By EditorMar 29, 2021
On March 22, the Minnesota Supreme Court granted the plaintiff's request in Wattson v. Simon to appoint a special redistricting panel for redistricting in the state in anticipation of the legislature failing to enact maps in time for upcoming elections. Read the original complaint. Read the court's order. Learn more. While the court agreed to appoint a panel at some point in the future, it delayed doing so and stayed all further proceedings until the legislature has had time to enact maps. This year's regular session of the Minnesota legislature is scheduled to end in late May. The court also…
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Ohio’s Lawsuit Over Census Data Delay is Dismissed by Federal Court

By EditorMar 24, 2021
Earlier today, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio denied Ohio's request to the court for an order compelling the U.S. Census Bureau to deliver redistricting data to the state by the statutory deadline of March 31. Ultimately the court denied the request for a preliminary injunction for lack of standing because the Census Bureau's failure to meet its deadline in and of itself does not constitute a redressable injury, explaining that "A litigant is not concretely injured and standing is not met simply because a statute creates a legal obligation that goes unfulfilled." In an opinion…
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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…
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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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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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Ohio Fires First Salvo in Court Over Delayed Census Redistricting Data

By EditorMar 01, 2021
On Thursday, Ohio became the first state to sue the U.S. Census Bureau over late redistricting data. After the Bureau announced it would delay the release of the data on the statutory deadline of March 31, postponing release to Sept 30, the Ohio Attorney General filed suit in federal district court to request data delivery for Ohio either on the statutory date or on the earliest date possible. The complaint challenges the decision of the Census Bureau to delay data delivery to the States due to processing delays caused by Covid-19 and its focus on delivering apportionment data to the…
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