Gov. Doug Ducey and fourteen other governors wrote a joint letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo urging a swift release of the census redistricting information.
The letter addresses the main issue: the delay in releasing the data has made state legislatures unable to redraw district lines before the 2022 election cycle.
The letter stated, “While we recognize the difficulties associated with completing a decennial census amid a pandemic, the ongoing delay in the release of 2020 Census redistricting data places our states in a nearly impossible situation to redraw lines prior to the 2022 election cycle. Consequently, we urge you to release redistricting data this month or as soon as possible prior to the delayed release date of September 30, 2021, and the release of the “legacy format” data on August 16, 2021.”
When preliminary data was released in April, states like Arizona didn’t gain seats, even though they are one of the fastest-growing areas in the U.S. According to the census, Arizona’s population increased by 11% compared to a decade ago.
“When you see a state of Montana getting an extra seat and Arizona did not, it does make you very quizzical,” political analyst Chris Herstam told 12News. “This will hurt the state politically in D.C. for the entire next decade.”
Some activists blamed Gov.Doug Ducey for supporting the Trump administration’s failed effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census questionnaire, AP reported. Those efforts intimidated Latinos and kept them from fully participating in the census, they said.
“What we saw from the government, Ducey and the Trump administration, was intimidation from Day 1 on the census. Because of this narrative of fear and this narrative of not funding, we lost that seat,” said Eduardo Sainz, national field director for political advocacy group Mi Familia Vota.
The letter continued, “Districts for the U.S. House of Representatives cannot be drawn until the data has been released. Districts for state legislatures also cannot be drawn until this data has been released. Districts for county, parish, township, and municipal governing bodies cannot be drawn until states have had the opportunity to draw congressional and state legislative districts. Lastly, districts for school district seats cannot be drawn until county, parish, township, and municipal governing bodies have had the opportunity to draw their own respective districts. As a result of such negative impacts to our constitutional responsibilities, we seek the release of redistricting data as soon as possible—and in line with traditional timelines—so that states may begin to perform important redistricting tasks on behalf of our constituents.”
Other governors signing the letter were Asa Hutchinson (AR), Brian Kemp (GA), Ron DeSantis (FL), Kay Ivey (AL), Kim Reynolds (IA), Mike Parson (MO), Pete Ricketts (NE), Greg Gianforte (MT), Mike DeWine (OH), Henry McMaster (SC), Bill Lee (TN), Greg Abbott (TX), and Mark Gordon (WY), Doug Burgum (ND).
