1. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program

2. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program Background – P.L. 94-171
Under the provisions of Title 13, Section 141 of the United States Code (U.S.C.), the Secretary of Commerce is required to:
Provide the “officers of public bodies having initial responsibility for the legislative apportionment or districting of each state…” with the opportunity to specify geographic areas (e.g. census tabulation blocks, voting districts) for which they wish to receive decennial census population counts for the purpose of reapportionment or redistricting
Furnish state officials or their designees with population counts for those areas identified (typically census tabulation blocks, congressional districts, state legislative districts, and voting districts), by April 1 of the year following the decennial census. 2

3. Census Bureau Geography
For more information:

4. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program Phase 1 – The Block Boundary Suggestion Project (BBSP) – COMPLETED
Schedule
Key Activities
States can influence the 2020 tabulation blocks
Must Hold/ Do Not Hold
Missing Features
Misaligned Features
Activity
Date
Initial Delineation
December 2015 – May 2016
Verification
December 2016 – May 2017 4

5. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program Phase 2 – The Voting District Project (VTDP)
Schedule
Activities
States provide their Election Districts/Precincts/Wards
States can influence the 2020 tabulation blocks
Missing Features
Misaligned Features
Update Area Landmark (state parks, prisons, etc.) boundaries
Suggest updates to legal boundaries – New for 2020
Activity
Date
Initial Delineation
January 3, 2018 – May 31, 2018
Verification I
January 2, 2019 – May 31, 2019
Verification II*
January 2, 2020 – March 31, 2020
*Added a short second round of verification for those states who participate in both the Initial Delineation and the first round of Verification 5

6. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program Phase 3 – Data Delivery
Schedule
Content - Geographic Support Products
Shapefiles
Maps (PDP only)
Block Assignment Files
Block to Block Relationship Files – New (timing for 2020) 6

7. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program Phase 4 – Collection of the New Plans
Schedule
Activity
Date
115th Congress and 2016 State Legislative Districts
November 2015 – April 2016 – COMPLETED
116th Congress and 2018 State Legislative Districts
November 2017 – April ONGOING
117th Congress and 2020 State Legislative Districts
No Collection
118th Congress and 2022 State Legislative Districts
November 2021 – April 2022
Continuous collection of Congressional plans on a 2-year cycle
Continuous collection of State Legislative District Plans on a 2-year cycle 7

8. Census Redistricting Data Program Phase 5 – The View from the States
Generate, from the States’ point of view, a report detailing:
Successes of the 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Areas for improvement from the 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Recommendations for the 2030 Census Redistricting Data Program
Publication date in 2025 8

9. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program Where are we now?

10. Phase 2 – Voting District Project

11. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Phase 2 – Voting District Project - Roles
The Census Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office (CRVRDO) is the point of contact for the state designated non-partisan liaison regarding the Redistricting Data Program
Liaisons have the option to parcel work out to others and then review
Liaisons must certify all work being submitted to Census for processing 11

12. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Phase 2 – Voting District Project (VTDP) - Basics
You must update Census Bureau provided shapefiles
Available on the Census Bureau’s webpage ftp://ftp2.census.gov/geo/PVS
Named partnership_shapefiles_17v2
The Census Bureau will accept updates to:
Voting Districts
Linear features
Area Landmarks and Hydrography
Legal Area Boundaries (incorporated places, county subdivisions in some states) 12

13. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Updating Voting Districts
VTD updates allowed include:
Creating
Deleting
Adding/Removing Area
Updating Attributes (name, code, LSAD, VTDI, FUNCSTAT)
VTDs should nest within and cover the entire county
Unassigned areas will be assigned a code of ZZZZZZ 13

14. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Updating Voting Districts (continued)
VTDS should be submitted with a six – character code (VTDST)
If code is less than 6-characters, the Census Bureau will pad with leading zeros
Code can include alphanumeric and special characters
VTDs should be submitted with a name if one exists (NAME)
If a name is not supplied the Census Bureau will use the VTD code as the name
Names can be up to 120 characters and can include spaces, alphanumeric and special characters
Names appear on Census Bureau data and geographic products 14

15. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Updating Voting Districts (continued)
VTDs should be submitted with a Legal/Statistical Area Description (LSAD)
LSADs describe the typology for the entity
Three possible LSADS for VTDs
V1 – “Voting District” is a prefix to the name
V2 – “Voting District” is a suffix to the name
00 – “Voting District” is not associated with the name
Example NAME/LSAD combinations 15

16. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Updating Voting District Boundaries (continued)
VTDs should be identified as “actual” or “pseudo” (VTDI)
Actual VTDs exactly match the “ground truth” location of the VTD
Pseudo VTDs do not exactly match the “ground truth” spatial location of the VTD
Identify in the VTDI field
“A” = Actual
“P” = Pseudo
VTDS should be submitted with a Functional Status (FUNCSTAT)
Two Functional Status legal values for VTDs
N = Nonfunctioning; Use when VTDI = A
S = Statistical; Use when VTDI = P 16

17. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Updating Linear Features
Linear features updates allowed Include:
Adds (excludes non-visible feature not added as a boundary)
Deletes
Realignments
Only if more than 7.6m out of position or topologically inaccurate in relation to other features or boundaries
Submit as an add/delete
Attribute changes or corrections
Name, MTFCC Changes
Return file should be transactions only 17

18. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Updating Linear Features (continued)
Required attributes for linear feature return file
TLID = TIGER Line Identifier
MTFCC = MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code (e.g. S1100 = Primary Road; S1400 = Neighborhood Road; H3010 = Stream/River; L4020 = Power line) 18

19. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Area Landmark Review
Area Landmark updates allowed include:
Boundary corrections (adding/removing area)
Creating new area landmark or hydrographic area
Removing an area landmark or hydrographic area
Changing or adding a name
Return file should be transactions only 19

20. This example of a prison area landmark shows how properly delineating the landmark boundary can result in creating blocks that will include only that landmark’s population.

21. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Updating Area Landmarks (continued)
Required attributes for area landmark return file
RELATE = IN = Adding area; OUT = Removing area
MTFCC = MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code (e.g. K1235 = Juvenile Institution; K1237 = Federal Penitentiary, State Prison; K2540 = University or College; H2030 = Lake/Pond)
AREAID = Area Landmark Code 21

22. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Legal Boundary Review and Update
Legal boundary updates allowed include:
Boundary updates (adding/removing area) for annexations, deannexations and boundary corrections
Creating new legal entities*
Removing existing legal entities*
Legal entities allowed to be updated include counties, minor civil divisions (MCDs), incorporated places, and consolidated cities
Done in conjunction with the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS)
Return file should be transactions only
* Please contact our office at or 22

23. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Updating Legal Boundaries (continued)
Required attributes for annexations and deannexations
EFF_DATE = Effective Date
AUTHTYPE = Authorization Type (ordinance, local law, resolution, other etc.)
DOCU = Supporting document number
RELATE = IN = Adding area; OUT = Removing area 23

24. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Updating Legal Boundaries (continued)
Required attributes for boundary corrections
RELATE = IN = Adding area; OUT = removing area 24

25. 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program
Updating Legal Boundaries (continued)
Notes on boundary corrections
Generally boundary corrections appear in the incorrect location and the overall shape of the geographic entity is maintained.
Generally, the Census Bureau does not accept boundary corrections that dissolve boundary-to-feature relationships if the difference is less than thirty feet (7.6m) or they have a width of 30 feet over the entire polygon.
When housing units are not affected, the Census Bureau suggests you snap your boundaries to nearly street centerlines (or rivers, railroads, etc.) wherever applicable.
Florida recently went through the Census Bureau’s Boundary Quality Assessment and Reconciliation Project which should minimize the need for boundary corrections. 25

26. Geographic Partnership Programs Boundary Quality Assessment and Reconciliation Project (BQARP)
Realigning the Census place boundary (blue) with the accurate locally-sourced place boundary (red) and parcels (black)
Example 1
Example 2

27. Questions? Colleen Joyce
Census Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office
U.S. Census Bureau