Alaska Redistricting Board Adopts Proposed Redistricting Plans

By EditorSep 10, 2021

Press Release: Sept. 9 2021 For Immediate Release: September 9, 2021 ANCHORAGE – Today the Alaska Redistricting Board adopted two proposed redistricting plansin accordance with Alaska Constitution Article VI Section 10, which requires adoption of at leastone proposed plan within thirty days after the official reporting of the decennial census of theUnited States. The census data was received on August 12, 2021.“We have fulfilled our constitutional obligation and I’m pleased to begin the process of hearingfrom the public over the next 60 days as we develop our final plan,” said Board Member NicoleBorromeo. The Board will be meeting on Friday,…

Enacting a Redistricting Map, NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting CommissionsAlaska, enacting, IN-DEPTH, policyindepth, STATENEWS

Listen: JMU Podcast Interviews David Wasserman on What to Expect for the 2020 Redistricting Cycle

By EditorSep 01, 2021

The James Madison Center for Civic Engagement Democracy Matters podcast series interviews redistricting expert David Wasserman, Senior Editor, U.S. House of Representatives for The Cook Political Report about what this redistricting cycle will look like across the nation. Listen below. Democracy Matters Podcast August 26, 2021

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Browse Alabama Census 2020 Population and Housing Data

By EditorAug 29, 2021

This data visualization is from America Counts; the Census Bureau's state-by-state look at the demographic changes the new 2020 Census results reveal. These state profiles bring you all the key population characteristics of your state and your county on one page. Explore the data below. Alabama Census 2020: Population & Housing Profile All Data visualizations for Alabama are located on this census page.

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Time.com Article Lays Out the Case for Prison Gerrymandering Reform

By EditorJul 05, 2021

Prison Gerrymandering is more an act of omission than commission in that it occurs as a result of the redistricting process unless a jurisdiction acts to reverse it. In the 10 years between the 2010 and 2020 redistricting cycle, nearly a dozen states have committed to rectifying what many advocates say is a distortion in representational rights as a result of counting prisoners as residents of the electoral districts they are incarcerated in as opposed to the districts they resided in prior. Time.com offers this recent article that describes the issue in practical terms and makes the case for nationwide…

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Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signs bill ending prison gerrymandering

By EditorMay 29, 2021

Press release from the Prison Policy Initiative. Connecticut becomes the 11th state to end the practice of prison gerrymandering. May 27, 2021 For Immediate Release – Yesterday, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed a bill ensuring that people in state prisons will hereafter be counted as residents of their home addresses when new legislative districts are drawn. The new law makes Connecticut the eleventh state to end the practice known as prison gerrymandering, after Illinois passed its own bill earlier this year. The national movement against prison gerrymandering began in 2001 when the founders of the Prison Policy Initiative discovered that the sheer size of…

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Fast-Track Future Redistricting Litigation

By EditorMay 17, 2021

The Wisconsin state supreme court declined on Friday, to include all redistricting cases in its original jurisdiction. The decision was in response to a petition by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty to fast-track redistricting litigation in the state by having that court conduct a full trial and devise remedies at the outset as opposed to just conducting an appellate review of lower court decisions. Read the court decision here. The court declined any blanket rule for redistricting challenges and instead indicated that it would decide on whether original jurisdiction applies on a case-by-case basis. "as drafted, the procedures…

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Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission Launches Online Public Comment Portal

By EditorMay 07, 2021

The portal allows users to submit written testimony, identified communities of interest, and plan maps for review by the commission. The portal was developed in collaboration with the MGGG Redistricting Lab at Tufts University. You can view the portal introductory video below. Go to the MICRC Portal https://youtu.be/FWfGrEQehUk

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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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Reform: 2021 Gerrymandering Threat Index by Nonprofit Group “RepresentUs”

By EditorApr 07, 2021

RepresentUs, a nonprofit advocacy group, released an online app and 160-page Gerrymandering Threat Index report which measures each state's risk level for gerrymandering activity during the 2020 redistricting cycle. By its measure, 35 states have an extreme or high threat of gerrymandering or 70% of the nation, including over 188 million Americans. The index measures a state's likelihood that it will enact "gerrymandered" maps based on several factors including whether politicians draw maps, how transparent the process is, the robustness of legal criteria, the likelihood of partisan line-drawing, and how difficult maps are to challenge in court. Browse the risk…

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NCSL Overview: Reallocating Incarcerated Persons for Redistricting

By EditorMar 17, 2021

In this recent article, the National Conference of State Legislatures gives an overview of the fairly recent practice of prisoner reallocation in redistricting. This process refers to counting prisoners at their home address for redistricting purposes instead of the prison's address - which is what the census does. Prisoner reallocation involves obtaining records from prison officials and careful adjustment of official census data files. This overview explains the practice and how it relates to representation. Since this article was first published, Illinois became the tenth state to mandate prisoner reallocation beginning in 2030. Feb. 18, 2021: States redistrict their legislative…

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