"It all begins with the Map!"GeoElections News
Temple Terrace, FL www.icwmaps.com VOL. 21 NO. 1 - 
$.50 
The 22nd Annual GeoElections User’s Conference – December 2023
Another outstanding GeoElections Conference was conducted for veterans and new users alike. Guest speakers included Colleen Joyce, member of the Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office with the US Census Bureau. Tamara Holmes from VR Systems, Inc. discussed the use of GeoPoints within the voter registration system. Presentations by the people at ICW all contributed to the Conference.
 |
Colleen Joyce, Assistant Chief, Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office with the US Census Bureau. Her session did include a brief overview of the 2020 Redistricting Data Program (RDP) with a focus on the Voting District Project. She stated how the program can be improved for 2030 and how state and local governments can get data for the geographic areas they need. Colleen also discussed upcoming data product releases, early plans for the 2030 RDP, and another research related to the 2030 Census. Why Jefferson, Madison, and the Founders Enshrined the Census in our Constitution was purely magical. “The U.S. Constitution empowers the Congress to carry out the census in "such manner as they shall by Law direct" (Article I, Section 2). The Founders of our fledgling nation had a bold and ambitious plan to empower the people over their new government. The plan was to count every person living in the newly created United States of America, and to use that count to determine representation in the Congress. Enshrining this invention in our Constitution marked a turning point in world history. Previously censuses had been used mainly to tax or confiscate property or to conscript youth into military service. The genius of the |
Founders was taking a tool of government and making it a tool of political empowerment for the governed over their government. They accomplished that goal in 1790 and our country has every 10 years since then. In 1954, Congress codified earlier census acts and all other statutes authorizing the decennial census as Title 13, U.S. Code. Title 13, U.S. Code, does not specify which subjects or questions are to be included in the decennial census. However, it does require the Census Bureau to notify Congress of general census subjects to be addressed 3 years before the decennial census and the actual questions to be asked 2 years before the decennial census.” 1 The Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office can be reached by email at rdo@census.gov or by phone at 301-763-4039. Tamara Holmes from VR Systems, Inc., discussed the capabilities of the dynamic interface between GeoElections and VR Systems Voter Registration. Tamara is the lead contact for VR Systems seeking helping clients with the use of the interface. 1 US Census Bureau, Census in the Constitution. Google search.
|
