Repeat after me–Census redistricting data are publicly available within 24 hours of confirmed receipt by state governments. Apparently this small fact is not clear to reformers and editorial boards pushing for changes to redistricting.
Before people start spouting off on redistricting reform, they should read how the US Census handles the data. What all of this tells me is that a bunch of people think they are going to hold state legislators accountable without any idea of what that means.
The AFF currently ofers data from the 2000 decennial census, the American Community Survey, the Population Estimates Program, and the 2002 and 2007 economic censuses, and annual economic surveys. It also will provide data from the 2010 Census. The 2010 Census Redistricting Data [P.L. 94-171] Summary File will be available, by state, through the AFF within 24 hours after the bipartisan acknowledgement of its receipt by each state’s designated officials.
From the News-Gazette:
There’s nothing wrong with pre-map hearings. But what about holding public hearings on the map Democratic leaders ultimately propose? How about releasing the census information and allowing various interest groups to draft and propose their own maps? Democrats rejected amendments to do that.
From the Springfield Journal Register::
The bill before the House next month calls for four public hearings, but there’s no guarantee that we’ll get hearings during the drafting process and after the map is drawn. We would much prefer mandated hearings on the proposed map in draft form and on the final version, allowing for changes based on testimony at the hearings. We also believe the public should have access to the same census data and software that the legislature will use to redraw the map.
The software needed is any GIS software that deals with Tiger files and can import data. That’s not something to be provided by state government–it’s freely available in the marketplace. Some web sites offer it as well, though this isn’t something most people can do without GIS experience.
The data are available within 24 hours period. Editorial boards should check their facts especially when it takes about 5 minutes to track them down. The reform groups pushing this to editorial boards should know better, but clearly don’t understand the process. It’s the same file the legislators will be getting and you can even get a head start by downloading the shape files now and importing those into your GIS program.