Redistricting In Limbo Thanks To Delayed Census Data

Massachusetts lawmakers are putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle.

After every U.S. Census, the state redraws the lines for our precincts and and districts. How those lines get drawn can be critical for representation, and for who gets elected. Communities usually draw their precincts first. Then, the legislature takes over and draws districts.

But this year, thanks to the pandemic, census data normally released in the spring will be made public mostly this fall, with some preliminary data set to be released on Thursday. Because of that delay, some lawmakers are proposing to flip the process and have them draw districts first, then have communities take off. Some cities, towns and the Secretary of State Bill Galvin are pushing back on that idea.

Joining us to talk through the entire process is Emma Platoff, a reporter with the Boston Globe, and Beth Huang, director of the group Massachusetts Voter Table and organizer of the Drawing Democracy Coalition, which assists in public outreach on re-districting.