However, that won’t help state governments on a ticking constitutional clock.
After the Census announcement Wednesday, the National Conference of State Legislatures released a five-point plan for states dealing with the problems caused by the delays. States can petition their courts for relief, change their redistricting laws, modify their primary and filing dates, make “best guess” maps with preliminary data, or create a backup body to draw maps quickly with the late data, NCSL said.
Wendy Underhill, the director for the organization’s elections and redistricting program, said the later the process goes the more it may flummox the actual running of the next set of elections. Election officials must draw up new precincts and place voters in the proper spots, she said, on a tight timeframe.
“‘Oh, just move your primary date.’ I’m not saying that’s easy, but it is a thing states can be looking at,” Underhill said.
Elections approaching
Two states have legislative elections this year, New Jersey and Virginia, that could be affected by the delay. Last year, New Jersey voters passed a constitutional amendment allowing the legislature to run this year on the old boundary lines and redistrict before the 2023 legislative elections. Virginia, however, did not pass an amendment or legislation to deal with a delay.