Category Archives: redistricting

“Republicans ‘got greedy’ in drawing Pennsylvania congressional maps, new documents say”

January 8, 2020, 8:10 amredistrictingDan Tokaji

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on documents from the trove released by Thomas Hofeller’s daughter: “GOP gerrymandering got greedy the last time and bad political climate caused it to unravel,” one of the state-by-state analysis documents in the files said of… Continue reading

“Nevada group to seek signatures for redistricting initiative”

January 7, 2020, 3:02 pmdirect democracy, redistrictingJustin Levitt

The initiative to institute a commission in Nevada was amended and refiled to address a trial judge’s concerns about the ballot description.

Census hearing on hard-to-count communities at same time as voting systems security hearing

January 7, 2020, 2:57 pmpolitical equality, redistrictingJustin Levitt

At the same time as the Thursday hearing on voting system security that I’d mentioned, House Oversight will be holding a hearing on “Reaching Hard-to-Count Communities in the 2020 Census.” The witness list is still TBD, as… Continue reading

“Florida becomes one of last states to form Census committee”

January 7, 2020, 2:56 pmredistrictingJustin Levitt

The AP reports on Florida’s … exceedingly recent efforts to raise census awareness. In this context, I’m not sure whether “it’s never too late” is quite accurate.

“Where do inmates fall in Census count? NJ moves to end ‘prison gerrymandering'”

January 6, 2020, 2:11 pmpolitical equality, redistrictingJustin Levitt

A bill has passed the state Senate, and is working its way through the state Assembly. If it gets signed into law, that would make New Jersey the seventh state to change where incarcerated individuals are counted for representational… Continue reading

Techniques for Grassroots Campaign Volunteer Mobilization

January 6, 2020, 2:07 pmpetition signature gathering, redistrictingJustin Levitt

Joe Spaulding, lead field strategist for the Voters Not Politicians Michigan independent redistricting campaign that got 440,000 signatures in 4 months without paying any signature gatherers, reveals some follicular (and data-supported) tactics for fighting diminishing returns out in canvass-land. Thread… Continue reading

“Deceased GOP Strategist’s Daughter Makes Files Public That Republicans Wanted Sealed”

January 5, 2020, 1:02 pmelection law biz, redistrictingJustin Levitt

As Hansi notes, Stephanie Hofeller just dropped the first full tranch of documents on The Hofeller Files. Enjoy.

Redistricting Arizona

January 5, 2020, 12:56 pmcitizen commissions, redistrictingJustin Levitt

The Arizona Daily Star goes quite deep on the past, present, and future of Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission.

“Urban America likely to gain clout after Census”

January 5, 2020, 12:55 pmredistrictingJustin Levitt

Reid Wilson, in The Hill, discusses the population shift to cities. For those following census issues closely, one of the impacts of the implementation of differential privacy may blunt that apparent move a bit on the margins. As a… Continue reading

“Census will mean new ways for politicians to keep power despite earning fewer votes”

January 5, 2020, 12:49 pmpolitical parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

Bill Leonard weighs in on new opportunities for partisan gerrymandering after the Census.

“Why Texas doesn’t want to count all its Texans”

January 5, 2020, 12:48 pmredistrictingJustin Levitt

Larry Wilson contrasts California’s approach to Census outreach with the approach in Texas.

“Election controversies, other concerns prompt potential Virginia voting changes in 2020”

January 4, 2020, 9:41 amelection administration, redistrictingJustin Levitt

This seems like a good roundup of many of the electoral proposals on the agenda in Virginia for the coming legislative session.

“‘Alabama Counts’: How one Republican state bucks national trends and boosts Census awareness”

January 2, 2020, 1:35 pmredistrictingJustin Levitt

Alabama is right on the brink of losing a congressional seat – under most projections, it’s the state that would get the 436th seat if that were a thing. (And that’s if the Census count is actually accurate.) And… Continue reading

“Commission on Appellate Court Appointments in Spotlight as Redistricting Fight Nears”

January 2, 2020, 1:31 pmredistrictingJustin Levitt

In Arizona, the commission on appellate court appointments is also the screening body for applicants to the state’s independent redistricting commission. And with tomorrow’s deadline on applications to the commission, KJZZ has a story on some of the upstream impact… Continue reading

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