Census
Redistricting has been used in the past to exclude our communities from political power. How district lines are drawn influences who runs for public office and who is elected. The lines also affect how responsive elected representatives are to your community when they make decisions important to your lives, from ensuring safe schools to adopting immigration policies.
Census data should be used to draw final redistricting maps because census data is based on an actual count of the U.S. population and provides greater geographic specificity and accuracy than ACS data. ACS estimates, by contrast, are just that: estimates that come with the margins of error associated with any survey. That margin of error makes it hard to draw maps with the population precision required by the Constitution.
Factsheets from MALDEF, Common Cause & State Voices
Civil Rights and Good Government Groups, Together with Linedrawing Experts, Decry Attempts to Use ACS Data as the Primary Basis for Redistricting
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Washington, DC – Today, more than 55 civil and human rights groups and expert individuals released a statement to warn against inappropriate uses of data from the American Community Survey (ACS) for the purposes of redistricting.
Advancing Justice – AAJC Responds to the Census Bureau Release of Apportionment Data
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Washington, DC – April 26, 2021 – The U.S. Census Bureau, released its analysis for apportionment data based on the 2020 Decennial Census as mandated by the U.S. Constitution.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC reacts with the following statement to the release of the data that will divide for each state the 435 member seats in the U.S. House of Representatives:
In light of the upcoming delayed release of redistricting data following the 2020 Census, the undersigned groups and individuals unequivocally affirm the basic principle that it is not appropriate to implement electoral district lines based primarily on American Community Survey (ACS) data. Data from the decennial census and data from the ACS are different, and each has appropriate applications, including in the area of redistricting.
Civil Rights Groups Issue New Report Detailing Potential Harm to Upcoming Redistricting Efforts
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Washington, D.C.—April 5, 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.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC (Advancing Justice | AAJC) submits this written testimony to the House of Representative’s Committee on Oversight and Reform in connection with its January 9, 2020 hearing regarding preparations for the 2020 Decennial Census, including the Census Bureau’s efforts to reach hard-to-count communities and other issues.