While many aspects of daily life were affected by the coronavirus pandemic, it also slowed down the 2020 census. This is especially important for the upcoming elections as it significantly reduced the redistricting process. That's the time taken by states to draw new congressional and state legislative districts. Normally, the census year ends with the release of apportionment data. However, this year it has slipped from late December 2020 through April 26. The delivery of detailed redistricting data was pushed back to mid to late August.The redistricting delays are different in each state. Each state has its own rules and about half of the states are having difficulty drawing new maps for their state legislatures or congressional districts. They: 1) will hold state legislative elections in 2021; 2) must have new maps drawn by this year; 3) may have a deadline based on the census which could be read as requiring them redistrict before the end of 2021. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, redistricting delays due to the census are being tracked.Redistricting takes place on a tight schedule. Number of states facing a deadline for the 2021 state legislature or congressional redistricting process. Ordered by urgency. Legislative Map type 2021 Deadline. State Congress. Before 2021 general elections. 2 Constitutionally or statutorily determined 21 12. Tied to publication/receipt of redistricting information 11 6 States that are not included have deadlines in 2022. Source: Brennan Center for JusticeNot all states are subject to the same deadlines. Rules for redistricting in state legislature and congress can vary, so a state could be included in more than one category. Fairly many states have deadlines that are tied to publication or receipt redistricting data. This holds true even more for 16 states which don't have to draw state legislature lines until 2022, or have no state legislative deadlines at any time. The same applies for 26 states that have no specific deadlines for congressional redistricting (many of these states have the same deadlines as those for state legislative districts).The states facing deadlines are trying a variety of tactics to get more time. They have asked state courts to extend redistricting deadlines, used other population data, and, in the case New Jersey/Virginia, which are the two states with this year's state elections, delayed the redistricting process. It is up to the states how they handle redistricting delays. Some states will continue to use their old maps while others will create new maps using old data. This will all have consequences as states scramble to determine their political futures in an incredibly chaotic process.Is the census incorrect? FiveThirtyEight Politics PodcastNew Jersey and Virginia were the hardest hit, since they are the only states holding elections for their state legislatures 2021. Because their redistricting commissions didn't have the time to map their legislatures in time for this year's elections, each state has decided to hold these contests using current lines. This has political implications in every state in terms of who benefits.For example, Virginia's old lines could be a help to Republicans in November. A large portion of the House of Delegates map was drawn originally as a Republican voter gerrymander. According to Daily Kos Elections, a quarter of the map was changed in 2018 when a federal court declared that the map was a racial-gerrymander. However, the majority of the map could still be beneficial to Republicans in an off year election, even though President Biden won 60 of 100 House seats in 2020. The current lines cannot account for the population growth that has occurred since 2010, mainly in Democratic-leaning Northern Virginia.Related: Which States Lost and Won Seats in the 2020 Census? Continue reading. Continue reading.However, new maps for the post-2020 elections will be available soon. After receiving redistricting data in August from Virginia, the commission will start drawing lines. It could also send maps to the state legislature in October for an up or down vote. This could make redistricting an issue in the final stretch in 2021. Although the new maps won't be available in time for 2021, it is possible that a federal or state court will order Virginia to hold special elections for all House seats in 2022, even though the next state election is not until 2023. This is also possible. After the 1980 census, Virginia was forced by a federal court to hold elections for three consecutive cycles in 1981, 1982, and 1983.Because of the Democrats double-digit advantage in seats in both chambers, New Jersey's legislative elections are less dramatic than Virginia's. The redistricting process is now more predictable, thanks to a constitutional amendment that voters approved last November. This allowed for a delay in redistricting if the census data was not received by February. Republicans are dissatisfied with the absence of new lines for state legislature elections. They argue that keeping the existing lines will make it easier for Democrats to maintain their large majority, but they'll need to wait until New Jersey begins the redistricting process later in the year to achieve a better map.21 states have statutory or constitutional deadlines that are fixed or tied to the census year. 12 states have similar timelines for congressional line drawing. These laws will require states to meet redistricting deadlines by 2021. Oklahoma and Illinois are two of the states in this category. They have not let delays slow them down. They have already drawn the final maps, or at least most of them, for their state legislatures. This is not surprising considering that only one party controls redistricting in each state.New maps in Illinois had to be drawn before June 30, or a bipartisan commission could have taken over. Democrats hold the supermajorities in both house and wanted to avoid this outcome so Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker approved new maps that were drawn using American Community Survey data and not 2020 census data in June. This decision has already led to lawsuits from groups such as the state GOP, who claim that ACS data cannot be used as a substitute for census data. Federal courts may agree with plaintiffs and reject the new maps.To avoid sending the mapmaking process through a bipartisan commission, Oklahoma's legislature had to pass new maps by the spring end. Like Illinois' legislature, Oklahomas used ACS data to draw new lines. They passed them in May with the caveat of being modified by lawmakers in a special session following receipt of all redistricting data. Although the maps were not approved unanimously in Illinois, they passed Oklahoma with bipartisan support. However, Democrats still hold very few seats in either house. The maps are still quite favorable to the GOP, even though Oklahoma is so red that Democrats would have a hard time winning many races even with a more favorable one.The dominant party in New York is adopting a different approach to redistricting than in Oklahoma or Illinois. Democrats are trying to alter the rules to their advantage. The redistricting process in New York is currently controlled by an independent commission. A two-thirds majority in the legislature is required to approve new maps or slight modifications to existing maps if the same party controls both the houses of the legislature. This was intended to encourage bipartisan cooperation. If voters support a constitutional amendment that the state legislature worked to put on the November ballot, the support required to pass a commission plan would drop to a simple majority. It would also be reduced to 60 percent if it rejects the maps. This would allow Democrats to have a greater control over the redistricting process, as they hold a two thirds majority in both chambers. The date that the final plans are due to be filed by the commission would be moved from January 15 to Jan 1. However, the initial drafts would still need to be submitted in mid-September or as soon thereafter as possible.Related: Is Your State Red or Blue? Continue reading. Continue reading.Many states have passed laws to change deadlines or plan to reconvene their state legislatures later in the year to make maps. Utah, for example, passed a March law which extended the deadline for the states advisory Redistricting Commission to hold mandatory public meetings from August 1st to November 1. Vermont granted more time to its legislative apportionment Board with an April law which moved the deadline to submit map proposals from July to no later than 90 days following the release of redistricting data. The state legislatures of South Dakota, Delaware, Indiana and Indiana will meet again later in the year to redraw their congressional and state legislative lines.In some other states, courts have either extended redistricting deadlines or stepped in to do so. For example, last year, the California Supreme Court extended Aug. 15's deadline for the independent redistricting committee to draw maps for state legislative and congressional districts. It was now February. In April, the Oregon Supreme Court stated that the state legislature had until September 27 to complete redistricting for both congressional and state districts. Michigan, Maine, and Hawaii have asked their courts to grant similar relief for their legislatures and election officials. Given the anticipated mid-August release data, Hawaii and Maine are most likely to miss their deadlines.Ohio was also under pressure from an approaching deadline. The states redistricting Commission must complete state legislative maps by September 1, while the state legislature must finalize the congressional map by September 30. Ohio took a more extreme approach and sued the U.S. Census Bureau for the delays. The state reached an agreement with the agency. Ohio will drop its suit if it receives the data by August 16.The deadlines for redistricting data release in the US are 11 for state legislative districts, and 6 for congressional districts. While these timelines are more flexible than those of the other states, some may still face problems. The Iowa's nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency has until late September or mid-November, depending on when the data was released, to draw new lines that the state legislature will consider. Problem is that the new maps must be approved by the legislature and sent to Governor by September 1. The state Supreme Court could take control if the legislature fails approve the maps before then. Texas will probably address redistricting during a special session in October or September, but the March 2022 primary may have to be delayed if it isn't able to finalize its maps in time.Colorado was one of the states that had deadlines for data release. Last week, the 2022 redistricting process entered a new phase when the independent redistricting committee released the first draft of any state's congressional map. Following a Colorado Supreme Court decision in June, the commission did not have to wait to receive redistricting data before drawing its map. These congressional lines are likely to change as the commission receives public comments. The final map will also use 2020 census data. However, election observers continue to speculate about the implications of the map for the 2022 midterm elections. Other states may follow Colorado's example as they attempt to draw the lines that will determine their political futures.FiveThirtyEightWhy Democrats want to reform election systems even though they don't have the votes
