Today’s redistricting round-up includes news from: The U.S. Census Bureau was scheduled to release 2020 census data necessary for redistricting on Aug. 12 Michigan, where an announcement about a potential legal counsel hire has drawn criticism New Jersey, where a congressional redistricting tiebreaker was chosen and the Secretary of State announced a date for the…
The Colorado Supreme Court modified its schedule for reviewing congressional and state legislative redistricting plans on July 26. This prompted the state’s congressional redistricting commission to adjust its own deadlines for submitting a final plan to the court for review. The court’s July 26 order requires the congressional commission and all other interested parties to…
On July 26, the New Jersey Globe reported that the Republican leaders of New Jersey’s redistricting commissions had requested clarification from Secretary of State Tahesha Way (D) on how incarcerated people in the state should be counted in reapportionment and redistricting processes. Under S758, passed in 2020, New Jersey must count incarcerated individuals at their…
In this week’s Redistricting Review, we cover news out of New Jersey, New Mexico, and Wisconsin. New Jersey: On July 20,New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner asked Democrats and Republicans to reconvene and pick a consensus candidate for the 13th member of the state’s congressional redistricting commission. According to state law, the majority…
Virginia: On June 28, Paul Goldman, a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, filed suit against Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and the Virginia State Board of Elections (among other state officials), asking that a U.S. District Court declare the Nov. 3, 2021, elections for the House of Delegates invalid, limit the terms of delegates…
In this week’s Redistricting Review, we cover news out of Alabama and Colorado. Alabama: On June 29, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama rejected an attempt by Alabama state officials to force the U.S. Census Bureau to release redistricting data in advance of August 16, the date…
The delayed release of 2020 block-level data by the U.S. Census Bureau has led the state of North Carolina to delay municipal elections currently scheduled for 2021. A bill postponing this year’s municipal elections in North Carolina to 2022 became law on June 28. It affects elections in at least 35 municipalities, including Charlotte, Durham,…
The Colorado Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission released preliminary congressional district maps on June 23, making Colorado the first state in the current redistricting cycle to produce a draft congressional plan. The commission will now conduct at least three public hearings on the proposed maps in each of the state’s current congressional districts. This makes for…
As of June 16, two lawsuits have been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois-Eastern Division challenging the state legislative maps signed that Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) signed into law on June 4, 2010. Both complaints focus on the Illinois Legislature’s use of data from the American Community…
Redistricting authorities in at least three states held hearings about their respective redistricting processes in the past week. Here’s a roundup. Georgia: Last week, Georgia lawmakers announced a schedule for public redistricting hearings, the first of which took place virtually on June 15. Ten more public hearings are scheduled, with the next taking place in…