Census Bureau Director’s Blog Post: “Anomalies” in Data are Not as Scary as they Sound

Census Bureau Director’s Blog Post: “Anomalies” in Data are Not as Scary as they Sound

By EditorMar 09, 2021
Michael Thieme, Assistant Director for Decennial Census Programs discusses the back-office processing of census data "anomalies" and what that really means. The article, by Thieme's admission, is meant to address the confusion surrounding the term and explain that anomalies are "a signal that the quality checks on the census are working." He gives a detailed and informative look at just what anomalies really are and how the Census Bureau addresses them, including the various categories of anomalies. Thieme also assures readers that "we have not found any anomalies that are impossible to fix." Read the blog entry here.
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Watch: Census Bureau Briefs States On Redistricting Data Delivery Delay

Watch: Census Bureau Briefs States On Redistricting Data Delivery Delay

By EditorMar 09, 2021
Watch this virtual briefing by the bureau last week on what exactly is taking so long with the redistricting data that states need to complete maps. Redistricting data will be delayed at least six months until Sep. 30. James Whitehorne, Chief of the Census Redistricting & Voting Rights Data Office at the Census Bureau, briefed state officials during this meeting hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The meeting begins with a short update on the status of H.R. 1, a sweeping election reform bill currently moving through Congress that would impose dramatic structural changes to the congressional redistricting…
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Listen: Census Bureau Official and NCSL Director Discuss Redistricting Data Quality and Delays

Listen: Census Bureau Official and NCSL Director Discuss Redistricting Data Quality and Delays

By EditorMar 07, 2021
In this "Our American States" podcast hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) James Whitehorne, chief of the Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office at U.S. Census Bureau, and Wendy Underhill, who oversees the Elections and Redistricting Program at NCSL discuss how the pandemic affected the bureau’s ability to collect data, and how states are responding to the six-month delay for redistricting data. Podcast https://redistrictingonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/OAS_Episode_124.mp3 For more podcasts visit the Our American States Podcast Page at NCSL.org
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February Redistricting Update

February Redistricting Update

By EditorMar 02, 2021
A recap of developments in redistricting for the last month. If you weren't paying attention, you likely missed a lot of activity in the redistricting realm this February. The biggest news is the first two redistricting lawsuits have been filed in courts even before any line-drawing has begun. Read on for this and other developments from the Census Bureau, California's redistricting commission, and congress. Litigation States have made the preparations to begin the redistricting process but there is no census data available yet to start the task. At least two states are not taking this laying down and have filed…
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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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The Census Bureau Sets a Target Date for Long-awaited Redistricting Data Delivery to the States

The Census Bureau Sets a Target Date for Long-awaited Redistricting Data Delivery to the States

By EditorFeb 12, 2021
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today the target date for delivering redistricting data to the states; the final component needed to redraw congressional and legislative lines. The relevant excerpts from the bureau's official blog are below. The press release is here. James Whitehorne, Chief of the Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office, U.S. Census Bureau: If this were a typical decade, we would be on the verge of delivering the first round of redistricting data from the 2020 Census. Our original plan was to deliver the data in state groupings starting Feb. 18, 2021 and finishing by March 31, 2021.  …
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What’s New About Redistricting in 2020? – It’s Going To Start Late

What’s New About Redistricting in 2020? – It’s Going To Start Late

By EditorFeb 11, 2021
Really late. The pre-Covid decades were very much predictable in terms of census data releases. The apportionment data, pursuant to statute, would be delivered to the President and Congress by Dec. 31, and redistricting was delivered to the states on a rolling basis throughout March. States with early primaries in that year would get their data first. By April 1 every state would have all of the data needed to begin the redistricting process. This decade, the census data timeline has been delayed and is riddled with uncertainty. The apportionment data was promised by the Census Bureau in January, then…
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Special Citizens Voting-Age Population Tabulation Canceled by Census Bureau

Special Citizens Voting-Age Population Tabulation Canceled by Census Bureau

By EditorFeb 10, 2021
While the big news from the Census Bureau regarding the delayed apportionment and redistricting data has dominated the headlines as of late, the bureau also announced that it would be discontinuing its efforts to create a post-2020 “special tabulation” of the citizen voting-age population (CVAP). This special tab would have been a detailed estimate of the citizen voting-age population nationwide. Here is what you need to know about this development. A CVAP Special Tab is already Produced Annually by the Bureau. The special tab that was discontinued by the bureau recently is not the annual CVAP tab that it has…
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Census Bureau Announces Revised Data Release Schedule But Stops Short on Firm Date for Redistricting Data

Census Bureau Announces Revised Data Release Schedule But Stops Short on Firm Date for Redistricting Data

By EditorJan 28, 2021
The target date for apportionment data is April 30 2021. Bureau officials say a date for the release of redistricting data for the states is forthcoming, but they are certain that date will not be before July 30. A Census Bureau official made these detailed remarks on Wed, Jan. 27 to a group of legislators and staff on a conference/video call organized by the National Conference of State Legislatures. In the past, processing and preparation of apportionment and redistricting data was accomplished in a parallel process. This decade, the Bureau made the decision to focus entirely on producing the apportionment…
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Apportionment Numbers Delayed Until March

Apportionment Numbers Delayed Until March

By EditorJan 12, 2021
"Uncertainty over the timing of congressional apportionment increased Monday, as government lawyers told a federal judge the Census Bureau's new internal target date for finalizing state population counts is March 6." (Wash. Post) The remarks were made in a case management hearing for a lawsuit against the administration in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Read the Post article here.
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