State Data Center
Users Group
Office of Local Government
Comptroller of the Treasury
• Our office assists in the local redistricting process
(Produced a guide, developed a GIS application)
• Serves as the official repository for Voting Precincts
• Serves as an official liaison to the Census Bureau
• We receive data from the Census Bureau and distribute it
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What is Redistricting?
• Redistricting is the drawing of boundaries for political
boundaries such as state legislative, voting and county
commission districts.
• Reapportionment is the allocation of the state and
county legislative body, so that the members
represent substantially equal populations.
• Redistricting is required of Federal, State and Local
governments.
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Why is it Important?
• Essential to representative gov.
• The way district lines are drawn affects how politicians
represent constituents’ interests.
• The distribution of $450 Billion plus federal/state funds
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Why do we do it?
• Baker v. Carr fundamentally altered the nature of political
representation in America, requiring not just Tennessee but
nearly every state to redistrict during the 1960s.
• Baker v Carr - Began in Memphis, and went to the US Supreme
Court. The Plaintiff was Charles Baker and the Defendant was
the Secretary of State for Tennessee Joe Carr.
• Before then Tennessee had not redistricted since 1901.
• Baker v. Carr laid the frame work for the Voting Rights Act,
Equal Representation and Reapportionment , and “One Man
One Vote.”
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TCSA 2010 Seminar
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When is it Done?
• The Tennessee State Constitution requires
reapportionment at least once every TEN years. (TCA
5-1-11)
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Why does it involve us?
• TCA 4-16-101
(c) The office of local government has the following functions and duties:
1. Provide geographic information systems technical support, training, and map
maintenance to the division of property assessments and local governments;
2. Assist local governments with geographic information systems and mapping
issues;
3. Assist and advise local governments with local redistricting and reapportionment;
4. Compile and maintain precinct boundaries and maps in the state and assist with
their development;
5. Serve as the liaison with the United States census bureau and participate in its
redistricting data program;
6. Assist with other geographic information systems activities in the office of the
comptroller of the treasury; and
7. Such other duties as may be assigned by the comptroller of the treasury
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Who does Legislative Redistricting?
• Tennessee's congressional and state legislative
district lines are drawn by the state legislature.
Generally by the controlling party.
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TCSA 2010 Seminar
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Who does Legislative Redistricting?
• The State Senate takes its lead from the controlling
party. The current house speaker is Beth Harwell.
• Generally done on seniority.
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How is it done?
• All redistricting plans must use the latest federal decennial
Census.
• The federal decennial census includes census blocks.
• A census block is the smallest geographic unit used by the
United States Census Bureau for tabulation. A census
block is generally bounded by physical features such as
roads, railroads, creeks, etc…
• These blocks are used to perform redistricting.
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How is it done?
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How is it done?
• Research, collaboration, outreach.
• Performed using GIS and Census data.
• Custom GIS tool developed by OLG.
• Used TCA 5-1-111 to guide us.
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TCSA 2010 Seminar
How is it done?
• Take the new population numbers census give us and
divide it by the number of commission districts. (Gives us
the ideal population)
• We then examine where the population is growing at.
• Anything over or below the ideal population is deviation.
Case law over the years has set the 10% deviation
standard.
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Problems that arise with the
Redistricting Process
• Prisons
County
Prison in district
Bledsoe
Southeastern Tennessee State Regional Correctional Facility
Davidson
Middle Tennessee Correctional Complex (now called the Charles Bass Correctional
Complex), Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, and Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs
Facility
Hardeman
Whiteville Correctional Facility- CCA and Hardeman County Correctional Center
Hickman
Turney Center Industrial Prison and Farm
Johnson
Northeastern Correctional Complex
Lake
Northwest Correctional Complex
Lauderdale
Western Tennessee State Penitentiary
Morgan
Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex
Tipton
Tipton County Western Tennessee Detention Facility
Wayne
South Central Correctional Facility and Wayne County Boot Camp
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Gerrymandering
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But we love what we do
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So how did we do in 2010?
• Our office completed 94 of 95 counties. (Shelby)
• Our office processed 240,116 Census Blocks, 844
Districts and 2,174 Voting Precincts.
• We produced 282 work maps and 1,596 summary
maps.
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Deviation Statewide
Before
After
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So that's every 10 years. What do you
do the rest of the time?
• Support Administrator of Elections and Election commissions in
precinct changes (Geocoding Voters)
• Preparation for the next Redistricting (2020)
• Liaison to the U.S. Census Bureau
• Special Projects
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Assisting Local Election Commissions
• Our office works with Administrators of Elections and
Election Commission to ensure compliance with state
law.
• On average our office receives a monthly update from
three counties.
• Our office serves as the repository for redistricting
data, therefore all changes MUST be sent to our
office. (TCA-2-3-105)
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2020 Redistricting update
• 2020 is shaping up to be interesting!
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2020 Redistricting update
• Evenwel v. Abbott - The Supreme Court will be
taking up a case that argues districts ought to take into
account only the numbered of registered voters.
• Oral arguments are expected to occur at the end of
this month.
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2020 Redistricting update
• The Tennessee General assembly is looking at
removing the prison population from local redistricting.
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The 2020 Census Redistricting Data
Program is partitioned into 5 phases:
• Phase 1 – Block Boundary Suggestion Program (2015-17)
• Phase 2 - Voting District Project (2017-19)
• Phase 3 - Delivery of the 2010 Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting
Data Files and Geographic Products (2020-2021)
• Phase 4 - Collection of Post-2020 Census Redistricting Plans
(2022-23)
• Phase 5 - Evaluation of the 2020 Census Redistricting Data
Program and Recommendations for 2030 (2023-25)
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Phase 1-BBSP
• Chance for local officials to suggest census blocks to
be used in 2020.
• This lays out the foundation for upcoming redistricting.
• The legislature will use these blocks to do legislative
redistricting.
• Also improves the digital geography for Tennessee.
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Phase 2-VTD
• We submit all Voting Precincts to the Census Bureau
by working with Administrators to ensure we have the
latest Voting Precinct boundaries and names.
• That data gets merged into other Census products
and is used in the redistricting products.
• Also improves the digital geography for Tennessee.
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Phase 3-Delivery of Census data
• April 2021 - Our office will receive the population totals
and geographic products needed to complete the
2020 redistricting process.
• One key product we will receive is the census blocks
we suggested during Phase 1.
• Those blocks will be used to complete redistricting and
remain until 2030.
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Phase 4-Collection of plans
• After redistricting is complete our office will send the
local redistricting plans to Census.
• Census then creates statistics for the plans we send
through its American Community Survey program.
• This provide local officials, community leaders, and
businesses with information about there area.
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Phase 5-Suggestion for 2030
• Working with local officials our office will provide
feedback to Census on what worked and didn’t during
the 2020 redistricting process.
• Also our chance to make recommendations for 2030.
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Liaison to Census Bureau
• As a liaison, our office provides Census with
digital data.
1.
2.
3.
4.
City boundary updates
County Commission Districts
Voting Precincts
County line changes.
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Why is it Important?
• Helps provide the U.S. Census Bureau with accurate
geography in Tennessee.
• Which in turn gets incorporated into the overall
improvement of data.
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Conclusion
http://www.comptroller.tn.gov/lg/ActiveMapCounties.asp
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Questions/Comments
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Contact Information
Matthew Hill – Redistricting Supervisor
Matthew.Hill@cot.tn.gov
(615) 401-7828
Ned Phillips – GIS Technician Supervisor
Ned.Phillips@cot.tn.gov
(865) 594-6131
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