Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Census Bureau has begun delivering detailed population data to public officials involved in redrawing political district lines to meet the Supreme Court’s mandate of “one person, one vote.” About a dozen states have their numbers and North Carolina’s turn is not far off. Democracy North Carolina and others will be monitoring how political lines are redrawn to favor or disadvantage a racial group, language minority, political party, or community with a common interest. A long-winded but useful article notes that poorly justified differences in the population counts in the new districts drawn for a school board or a state legislature could be grounds for a successful legal challenge under the “one person, one vote” rule. Citizens have the ability to draw their own maps and challenge those of the powers-that-be. Here’s one link to useful resources and Redistricting 101.