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’…
Census Data and Geography, ,
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Texas Legislature Releases its First Congressional Map in Special Session

Texas Legislature Releases its First Congressional Map in Special Session

By EditorJul 30, 2025
Republican leaders in the Texas House have unveiled a draft congressional map for the ongoing special redistricting session, explicitly aiming to deliver up to five additional GOP seats, an outcome President Trump has publicly encouraged. Gov. Greg Abbott placed redistricting on the session’s agenda after Trump’s Department of Justice warned that portions of the current map may be unconstitutional. Still, House Republicans have acknowledged that partisan advantage is a central motive of this mid-decade redraw. The draft is still subject to amendment during the special session, and it is unclear whether additional versions will emerge. The aggressive move in Texas…
Strategy and Politics, , ,
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U.S. Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Decision on Private Voting Rights Act Lawsuits

U.S. Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Decision on Private Voting Rights Act Lawsuits

By EditorJul 26, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a significant, albeit temporary, reprieve for voting rights advocates and individual litigants, putting on hold a controversial ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit holding that private plaintiffs cannot bring claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), a ruling that could severely limit the ability of individual voters and advocacy groups to sue under the Act. This specific case originated from a challenge to North Dakota's 2021 state legislative map, which the plaintiffs, two Native American tribes and individual voters, argued diluted Native American voting power by…
Voting Rights Act, , , ,
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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…
Census Data and Geography, , ,
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Proposed Census Changes Would Shift How Non-Citizens Are Counted for Apportionment

Proposed Census Changes Would Shift How Non-Citizens Are Counted for Apportionment

By EditorJul 18, 2025
NPR reports that Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are once again trying to whittle down who “counts” when House seats and Electoral College votes are allocated. Three GOP bills introduced this year would direct the 2030 census to identify non-citizens and then subtract some, or all, of them from the population totals used for apportionment. The newest measure, advanced this week by a House Appropriations subcommittee on a 9-6 party-line vote, would bar the Census Bureau from including undocumented residents. Companion bills from Sen. Bill Hagerty and Rep. Chuck Edwards go further, targeting every non-citizen, including those with green cards…
Census Law, , ,
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Eighth Circuit Leaves North Dakota Tribes and Section 2 enforcement, waiting on the Supreme Court

Eighth Circuit Leaves North Dakota Tribes and Section 2 enforcement, waiting on the Supreme Court

By EditorJul 08, 2025
This week, a divided Eighth Circuit has refused to rehear Spirit Lake Tribe v. Howe, leaving intact its May 2025 ruling that bars private plaintiffs from suing under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The order preserves a decision that eliminated a key enforcement pathway for the seven states within the circuit and sets the stage for potential U.S. Supreme Court involvement. The case began when the Spirit Lake Tribe and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians challenged North Dakota’s 2021 legislative map, arguing that splitting their reservations diluted Native voting power. A U.S. District Court Judge…
Case Updates, Voting Rights Act,
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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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Experts React to the Supreme Court “Punt” on the Louisiana Voting Rights Case

By EditorJun 28, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court made an extraordinary move on June 27, when it declined to resolve Louisiana v. Callais and instead scheduled the case for a second round of briefing and argument next Term. The unsigned order keeps January 2024’s remedial map (Act 2/SB 8) in place and promises a follow-up directive “in due course” that may add new questions for counsel. An NPR article highlights just how rare this is, quoting several redistricting experts on the matter. Some have called the decision “puzzling,” given the straightforward factual record, while others suggest this decision (or non-decision) by the court could…
Voting Rights Act, ,
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Justice Department Files Voting Rights Suit Against Fayette County, Tennessee Commissioners

Justice Department Files Voting Rights Suit Against Fayette County, Tennessee Commissioners

By EditorJan 17, 2025
Press Release: January 16, 2025 The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Fayette County, Tennessee, alleging that the Board of County Commissioners violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act when it adopted a redistricting plan that denies the county's Black voters an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, alleges that during the 2021 redistricting cycle, the County Commission deliberately rejected multiple districting plans that would have combined Black communities in districts that would allow Black voters to elect representatives of their choice. In doing so,…
Tennessee, Voting Rights Act, ,
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Justice Department Files Voting Rights Suit Against Houston County, (Georgia) Board of Commissioners

Justice Department Files Voting Rights Suit Against Houston County, (Georgia) Board of Commissioners

By EditorJan 17, 2025
Press Release: Jan. 16, 2025 The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Houston County, Georgia, to challenge the county’s at-large method of electing the Houston County Board of Commissioners. The lawsuit alleges that the county’s current at-large method of electing county commissioners results in Black citizens having less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of choice, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Black residents make up more than 31% of the county’s voting-age population. In recent years, Black-preferred candidates have run for the Board of Commissioners…
Georgia, Voting Rights Act, ,
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