2009 Election Uniformity Workshop

Transcription

1 2009 Election Uniformity Workshop

2 Why? Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment)

3 Why? U.S. Code directs the Secretary of Commerce to take a decennial census of population as of the first day of April the decennial census date. Secretary must complete the census report by December 31st. (Title 13, U.S. Code)

4 Why? The General Assembly shall reapportion the Commonwealth into electoral districts in the year 2011 and every ten years thereafter. Every electoral district shall.be so constituted as to give, as nearly as is practicable, representation in proportion to the population of the district. (Article 2, 6 of the Constitution of Virginia.)

5 Why? In 1971 and every ten years thereafter, the governing body of each such locality [with districts or wards] shall reapportion the representation among the districts or wards, including.increasing or diminishing the number of such districts or wards, in order to give, as nearly as is practicable, representation on the basis of population. ( of the Code of Virginia)

6 Why? Localities must use the same census figures used in the House of Representatives redistricting, except: localities do not have to include any census data not specifically allocated to a census block; and, in some instances, may exclude prison populations. ( of the Code of Virginia)

7 The training is leaving the station

8 Census Program Phase 1 State Legislative District Project 2 Collection of State Legislative District boundaries. Includes verification and data tabulation for legislative districts based on Census 2000 data. Changes to Congressional boundaries collected and new tabulations developed as needed. 2. Census Bureau

9 Census Program Phase 2 Voting District/Block Boundary Suggestion Project July Invitations to participate in Phase 2 were sent to each State Census geography provides the framework for interpreting, analyzing, and understanding census data. 1 Census data -- and redistricting because it is based on census data - - is associated to geographic areas through census blocks Blocks: Geographic areas bounded on all sides by visible and/or nonvisible features 1 Smallest geographic area used for census data and redistricting. May not be subdivided when redistricting Groups of blocks form precincts 1 & 2. Census Bureau

10 Census Program Phase 2 Voting District/Block Boundary Suggestion Project March The Census Bureau provided shapefiles and the MTPS for the first county & began providing training. 2 Voting District boundaries and updates to legislative districts collected. VA provided block boundaries to Census in February 2009 States submit block boundary suggestions for 2010 Census Verification phase is included for all components. March 2009 Census prototype released Provides stakeholders opportunity to prepare redistricting systems for Census Bureau

11 THE PRESENT

12 Lay the Groundwork Research How was redistricting done last time? Who was involved? GR & EB involvement can range from nothing but executing changes to the voter files to being key staff on committee Who did the staff work? What timeline was used? Does the locality have a GIS system capable of redistricting?

13 Lay the Groundwork Research What [if anything] has your locality done to prepare? Is your locality recommending any block boundary changes? If so, will that affect any of your precinct or district boundaries? What are the DOJ submission requirements? Who prepared the submission package last time? Do you need to provide any information for the submission? What costs were involved last time? Learn the language

14 Lay the Groundwork Educate BOS/Council and staff BOS/Council: Designate project leader and team Decide consultant support

15 Lay the Groundwork Staff : Develop budget Legal Cost of outside attorneys/consultants Cost of submission to DOJ Other Staff Costs Public hearings GIS person? IT support? Advertising Travel Training

16 Lay the Groundwork Staff Develop budget GR: Postage Printing envelopes, notices and maps Staff to stuff and seal envelopes (explore the possibility of doing this mechanically or using a mail house) Staff costs associated with time to enter information into VERIS Staff costs for changing district information on VR application (optional) Additional voting equipment costs? More election officers needed? Signs and other precinct items? E-pollbooks?

17 Lay the Groundwork Staff : Identify software applications Design & populate necessary non-census databases 10 year election returns History of race of local elections Changes to precincts and boundaries since 2001

18 Lay the Groundwork Staff : If you are not streeted, do you want to be? Review and identify any proposed changes to census boundaries (precincts and census block group boundaries should coincide) Review precinct boundaries and polling places to ID necessary changes Make sure written boundary descriptions actually match legal block/map lines & are a closed loop.

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20 Lay the Groundwork Staff : Check that your streets are listed in correct PCTs (Gis file against street file) Review any population forecasts to ID where census figures are likely to require changes Talk with legislators about boundary changes that you or they want; can split precincts be healed? Find out how changes will be communicated with you for entry into VERIS

21 Lay the Groundwork Develop Timeline Work backwards from drop dead date (December 31, 2011) Include enough time for issuing RFP s and responses Leave enough time to start RFP process over again if initial proposals aren t accepted

22 Implementation March 2010 Deadline to submit verification corrections to census BOS/City Council establishes redistricting committee: Staff only vs. representatives from community groups If staff only, devise some way to receive input from stakeholders in the community. Committee should not be so large that work is cumbersome Finalize budget and appropriate funds Issue RFP s & enter into contracts Purchase equipment and software Hire/train staff Decide/set up public notice and access mechanisms

23 Implementation BOS and City Councils decide who is going to be involved, what process will be followed & identify criterion to be used

24 Implementation Mandatory Criterion One person/one vote

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26 Implementation Mandatory Criterion One person/one vote Compactness and contiguity Compliance with the Voting Rights Act Challenges to plan (under Gingles), minority groups must demonstrate: that they are a majority in a district it is politically cohesive group White majority votes enough in a bloc to defeat the minority candidate

27 Implementation Mandatory Criterion Other Voting Rights Act challenge considerations: Successes of minority candidates Racially polarized patterns Use of dilutive mechanisms such as at-large districts Racial appeals in campaigns Candidate selection process Past history & its continuing effects Responsiveness of officeholders to minority concerns Policies justifying the challenge

28 Implementation Mandatory Criterion Race may be considered Race may not be the primary reason Provisions of VRA aimed at maintaining black and Hispanic influence at the polling place don t apply in districts that are less than half minority.

29 Implementation Traditional Criterion Avoiding precinct/election district/locality splits Preserve communities of interest Preserving basic shape of current districts Protecting incumbents Political fairness/competition Voter convenience & effective election administration Avoid split census blocks

30 2011 EXECUTION Staff present data to decision makers Ideal population Which districts are over/which under Execute redistricting process Develop proposals No precincts can be established with fewer than 100 voters in a county and no fewer than 500 voters in a City Maximum size of a precinct is 5,000 registered voters Blocks should not be split Keep track of changes, but be careful of what you keep

31 2011 EXECUTION Public hearings of proposed plans BOS/Council introduce ordinance Public hearings on ordinance Adoption of ordinance Locality submits copies of plan to SBE & Division of Legislative Services Electronic file should go with paperwork to DLS DOJ preclearance Maps illustrating proposed changes and number of people affected should be included Documentation should show consideration of, legal criteria, traditional criteria, and racial demographics Notify SBE when preclearance received

32 2011 EXECUTION Enter changes into VERIS Must request to be loaded into VERIS redistricting database Suggest you request worksheets to track changes

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35 2011 EXECUTION Enter changes into VERIS Must request to be loaded into VERIS redistricting database Suggest you request worksheets to track changes Changes will not be moved into production until all changes entered, DOJ preclearance received, and all pending court suits resolved. Take advantage of the block change program While redistricting file is still in suspense, if you make any street file changes in production, you must also make them in the redistricting file.

36 2011 EXECUTION Review Exceptions Report Voter records that do not match the new database Mail new ID cards Reprecincting/Redistricting Voter Card Request Form Can prepare before preclearance received. Electoral Boards assess impact on resource needs New voting equipment required? (DOJ preclearance required if new type of equipment purchased) Additional election officers? Additional e-pollbooks?

37 2011 EXECUTION Public awareness campaign Print, video and radio media lists maintained by localities Associations & civic groups Elected representatives Locality s website Next Election(s) Maps and notices on old polling places Special EO posted outside to check to make sure voters are coming to the correct precinct

38 2011 TIME CONSTRAINTS Census data delivered to VA no earlier than January 1 and no later than April 1, 2011 (Virginia data released March 8 in 2001) No precinct boundary change to be implemented prior to May 15, 2011( , Code of Virginia) Co-ordinating local redistricting with state redistricting Try to delay mailing change notices until all redistricting is done so you only mail once.

39 2011 TIME CONSTRAINTS State primary & local BOS primary may be delayed until August Primaries for local Constitutional Officers and other locality wide offices still held in June

40 Note: regular June primary will fall into this timerange

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42 August 2001 Primary Schedule

43 August 2001 Primary Schedule

44 August 2001 Primary Schedule

45 August 2001 Primary Schedule

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47 2011 TIME CONSTRAINTS Some localities must have ordinances in place for local primaries/november general election. Allow time for public hearing on ordinance Allow time for DOJ preclearance (60 days minimum; time clock is reset if DOJ comes back with questions) DOJ preclearance must be received at least 30 days before a general election for local offices or election must be delayed ( , Code of Virginia)

48 2011 TIME CONSTRAINTS Notice of changes must be mailed to voters at least 15 days before the next election in which the voters will be voting in the changed election district No changes may be enacted within 60 days of a general election All changes must be enacted and in place by 12/31/2011

49 ABOVE ALL!

50 MAINTAIN YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR!