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…
Census Data and Geography, Local Redistricting, , ,
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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…
Census Data and Geography, Local Redistricting, , ,
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NAACP Withdraws Voting Rights Lawsuit as Fayette County, TN Adopts New District Map

NAACP Withdraws Voting Rights Lawsuit as Fayette County, TN Adopts New District Map

By EditorJul 11, 2025
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) has voluntarily dismissed its voting discrimination lawsuit against Fayette County, Tennessee, following the county commission's unanimous approval of a revised redistricting plan. The lawsuit, filed in February 2025, accused the county of intentionally diluting the voting power of Black residents through its 2021 district map, which included no majority-Black districts despite the county's population being over 25% Black. Faced with lawsuits from both the LDF and the U.S. Department of Justice, Fayette County officials swiftly responded by drafting a new districting plan. This revised map, approved unanimously by commissioners in June 2025, establishes three…
Local Redistricting, Tennessee, Voting Rights Act, , ,
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Virginia Beach Court Voids Single-Member District Plan on a Technicality

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 Redistricting,
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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…
Census Data and Geography, Local Redistricting, Redistricting Prep, , , ,
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Tarrant County Commissioners Seek to Defend its Commissioner District Map Against Voting Rights Act and 14th Amendment Claims

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, Texas, , ,
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An Overview of Local 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…
Local Redistricting,
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Review: Local Election Official’s Guide to Redistricting

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 Redistricting, ,
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Baltimore County’s Proposed Council Map Adds Two Members but There’s No Agreement on Map Yet

Baltimore County’s Proposed Council Map Adds Two Members but There’s No Agreement on Map Yet

By EditorJun 28, 2025
The Baltimore County Redistricting Commission’s final redistricting map proposal reshapes the council into nine districts, up from seven, following voter approval of a charter amendment. The proposed map includes two majority-Black districts, two majority-BIPOC districts, and five majority-White districts. Council member Izzy Patoka emphasized that the expansion offers more opportunities for women and people of color, but acknowledged the map still needs five of the current council’s seven votes to pass, meaning bipartisan support will be essential. The plan faces resistance from Republican council members such as David Marks, who criticized the map for having a “partisan objective” and splitting communities like…
Enacting a Redistricting Map, Local Redistricting, Maryland, , ,
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From Polk to Johnson: Iowa’s Quiet Redistricting Revolution at the County Level

From Polk to Johnson: Iowa’s Quiet Redistricting Revolution at the County Level

By EditorMar 01, 2025
Iowa’s 2020-cycle state maps drew the headlines, but the past four years have also reshaped local power centers across the state. Polk County, home to Des Moines and more than half a million residents, used the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) for the first time to redraw its five Board of Supervisors districts. Draft lines released in February 2022 paired two long-time incumbents and, according to one UVA analysis, created two genuine toss-up seats, raising the prospect of the county’s first GOP majority in decades. Public hearings that spring highlighted concern over Des Moines high-school clusters and partisan balance, but supervisors…
Iowa, Local Redistricting,
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