U.S. Census Bureau Releases Bulletin to Allay Fears and Explain its Testing Strategy for Differential Privacy

U.S. Census Bureau Releases Bulletin to Allay Fears and Explain its Testing Strategy for Differential Privacy

By EditorApr 07, 2021
This week, the U.S. Census Bureau released a bulletin that sounds a lot like it is a response to a report released by MALDEF and other civil rights groups earlier in the week. That report warns that the Bureau's application of differential privacy (DP) statistical techniques that alter census redistricting data to protect privacy, is likely to frustrate implementation of the Voting Rights Act during the redistricting process, ultimately disenfranchising minority voters. In particular, the MALDEF report claims that recent samples of 2010 census data treated with various degrees of differential privacy (DP) techniques will obfuscate the true population count…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, FEATURES, NEWS, Redistricting, ,
Read More
Civil Rights Groups Issue New Report Detailing Potential Harm to Minority Groups During Redistricting Due to Differential Privacy

Civil Rights Groups Issue New Report Detailing Potential Harm to Minority Groups During Redistricting Due to Differential Privacy

By EditorApr 05, 2021
Civil rights groups are raising concerns about the accuracy of the U.S. Census Bureau’s proposed new system for protecting privacy in a report released today. The report raises concerns about how the Bureau's use of differential privacy as evidenced by recent demonstration data, will obfuscate the true population count of minority populations and frustrate compliance with federal (and some state) Voting Rights laws governing the redistricting process. PRESS RELEASE April 5, 2021: Civil Rights Groups Issue New Report Detailing Potential Harm to Upcoming Redistricting Efforts Highlight Concerns About the Census Bureau’s Differential Privacy Methodology (Washington, D.C.) – Civil rights groups…
Census Data and Geography, LATEST, NEWS, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rules, , ,
Read More
View the Latest Census Estimate Data for Your State with the Redistricting and You Online Map Tool

View the Latest Census Estimate Data for Your State with the Redistricting and You Online Map Tool

By EditorApr 03, 2021
The Center for Urban Research (CUR) at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) has created the Redistricting & You online map to help members of the public, journalists, elected officials, and other redistricting stakeholders to understand the local implications of redrawing legislative district lines across the country. The website uses the latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau to show several population characteristics that will help inform the redistricting debate. Until census 2020 data is available, the most current data to show how congressional and state legislative district demographics have changed is from the American Community Survey, either from the 5-year 2015-2019 estimates or…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, LATEST, Redistricting, Redistricting Prep,
Read More
Study: Census Bureau’s Differential Privacy Disclosure Avoidance System Produces Concerning Results for Local Jurisdictions

Study: Census Bureau’s Differential Privacy Disclosure Avoidance System Produces Concerning Results for Local Jurisdictions

By EditorMar 31, 2021
Recent research into the effect of differential privacy (DP) on Alaska's census data show concerning results, especially for small area geographies such as townships, municipalities and other local jurisdictions. The authors of the study, a summary of which is posted in the blog for the Population Association of America, warn that local redistricting and other activities connected to census data could be substantially impacted by the Census Bureau's application of differential privacy on raw census data. The authors of the study, David Swanson, Professor Emeritus, Sociology at the University of California - Riverside, T.M. Bryan of Bryan Demographic Research, Richmond,…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, Local Redistricting, NEWS, Redistricting, , ,
Read More
California Redistricting Commission Gets Confirmation it Can Use Early Census “Legacy Format” Data

California Redistricting Commission Gets Confirmation it Can Use Early Census “Legacy Format” Data

By EditorMar 29, 2021
In a letter to the state's independent redistricting commission, Karin Mac Donald, the director of the California Statewide Database program, (SWDB) confirmed that the SWDB has the technical capabilities to process the legacy format files that the U.S. Census Bureau plans to release ahead of the final redistricting data files scheduled to be released by Sept 30. According to the Census Bureau, the data contained in the legacy file and the final file will be identical. Earlier this month, the bureau indicated that despite the six-month delay in delivering redistricting data to the states, it would be possible to release…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, NEWS, Redistricting, ,
Read More
Interactive Historical Apportionment Map Released by U.S. Census Bureau

Interactive Historical Apportionment Map Released by U.S. Census Bureau

By EditorMar 22, 2021
You can now view the results of every apportionment since 1910 in this new interactive map from the U.S. Census Bureau. The map displays the change in the number of U.S. House seats for each state in each decade, the percent change in population, and population density for each state. U.S. Census Bureau March 22, 2021: Interactive Apportionment Map Now Available The U.S. Census Bureau launched a new online map today ahead of the 2020 Census apportionment results release. The “Historical Apportionment Data Map” currently displays apportionment results for each census from 1910 to 2010. 2020 Census apportionment results will…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, FEATURES, LATEST, Redistricting, Redistricting Functions, ,
Read More
This Online Map Tool Identifies the Impact of Census Data Delays in Every State

This Online Map Tool Identifies the Impact of Census Data Delays in Every State

By Michelle DavisMar 19, 2021
Use this super handy map of the U.S. to browse which states are in the most trouble when it comes to delayed census redistricting data. Developed by the Electoral Innovation Lab at the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, this interactive map helps us to easily identify at least 11 states in the hot seat as of today. State staffers who would like to monitor possible responses to the data delay can use this map to identify similarly situated states. The lab plans to update the map as states make adjustments to their timelines or if the census timeline changes. From the Princeton…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, FEATURES, LATEST, Redistricting, Redistricting Prep,
Read More
How the Census Bureau Plans to Ensure an Accurate Census Group Quarters Count Despite Covid-19

How the Census Bureau Plans to Ensure an Accurate Census Group Quarters Count Despite Covid-19

By EditorMar 16, 2021
In this latest post from the Random Samplings Blog, Deborah Stempowski, Asst. Director for Decennial Census Programs, Operations and Schedule Mgmt, and James Christy, Asst. Director for Field Operations discuss the impact of Covid-19 on Group Quarters Data and how the Bureau has adjusted its post-data collection operations to ensure the accuracy of counts in colleges, group homes, prisons, and other group housing. Read the post below. 2020 Census Group Quarters: As we continue processing 2020 Census results, we’d like to provide more information on how we count people living in group quarters (GQs), such as nursing homes, military barracks…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, Redistricting,
Read More
U.S. Census Bureau Suggests Possibility of Redistricting Data in August, but with a catch.

U.S. Census Bureau Suggests Possibility of Redistricting Data in August, but with a catch.

By Michelle DavisMar 16, 2021
In a recent court filing and press release, the U.S. Census Bureau appears to be open to the possibility of delivering untabulated data by mid to late August to requesting states if they take the responsibility for reporting the data accurately. In its litigation in federal court in Ohio, which sued the Bureau for missing its statutory deadline to provide redistricting data to states - the Bureau filed a declaration explaining in detail its operational limitations for delivering the data files before the Sept 30 deadline it announced weeks ago. In doing so, it acknowledged that it was physically possible…
Census Data and Geography, DATA and TECHNOLOGY, LATEST, Redistricting,
Read More