Professional geography and demography nerd, focused on principled #redistricting, i.e. #FairMaps. Principal of Mapfigure Consulting. Fan of 11x17" paper. he/him
North Carolina
Joined December 2016
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Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: SCOTUS in 5-4 opinion by Chief Justice Roberts upholds ruling that Alabama must redraw congressional map to create second Black district. Opinion here: supremecourt.gov/opinions/22…
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
A new proposal for collecting race and ethnicity data on federal surveys (including the Census) just dropped. Public comments are open for 75 days federalregister.gov/document…
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
Redistricting fight over who is Black in Louisiana voting map : NPR npr.org/2022/10/18/112628782…
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
Good news: The newest version of the QGIS Redistricting Plugin is now in the QGIS plugin repository, featuring a number of bug fixes
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
Breaking-but-expected: Gov. Cooper vetoes the bill that would have moved the 2022 primary elections back from May to June
Don't fill in your calendars in pen just yet, though.
The Supreme Court could still change the election date (again) #ncpol #ncga newsobserver.com/news/politi…
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
Per @MurphinNC not all election filings are being indefinitely delayed--just the ones for seats that involve districts being challenged in gerrymandering lawsuits.
In other words, the state legislature and US House #ncpol #ncga newsobserver.com/news/politi…
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
Filing for Congress, NC House and NC Senate ends before it begins. newsobserver.com/news/politi… #ncpol #ncga
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
5. When people talk about redistricting, there's a lot of focus on Congress. In case you forgot the redrawing of voting maps is happening at *every* level of gov't — including counties & school districts — a list of Section 2 VRA cases from DOJ's website:
justice.gov/crt/voting-secti…
ALT United States v. City of West Monroe, LA (W.D. La. 2021) United States v. Chamberlain School District (D.S.D 2020) United States v. City of Eastpointe, MI (E.D. Mich 2017) United States v. State of North Carolina (M.D.N.C. 2013) United States v. State of Texas (W.D. Tex. 2013) United States v. State of Texas (S.D. Tex. 2013) United States v. Town of Lake Park, FL (S.D. Fla. 2009) United States v. Euclid City School District Board of Education, OH (N.D. Ohio 2008) United States v. Salem County and the Borough of Penns Grove, NJ (D.N.J. 2008) United States v. The School Board of Osceola County, FL (M.D. Fla. 2008) United States v. Georgetown County School District, et al. SC (D.S.C. 2008) United States v. City of Philadelphia, PA (E.D. Pa. 2007) United States v. Village of Port Chester, NY (S.D.N.Y. 2006) United States v. City of Euclid, et al. OH (N.D. Ohio 2006) United States v. Long County, GA (S.D. Ga. 2006)
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
Just published: A preview of what redistricting means for North Carolina
ncdemography.org/2021/08/02/…
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
Pleased to announce a new URISA publication: #Redistricting: A Guide for the #GIS Community. Check it out and order your copy today. urisa.org/redistricting-guid… @NCSLorg @udrawthelines @RedistrictNet @nsgic @theAAG
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
Redistricting & Census Update conta.cc/2LQMFfj @MarvaDiazStrat tracks this week's news and updates including an RFP for a firm to draw CA district lines for the next decade. Get our free email news and Subscribe for the full report.
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
After Pennsylvania courts shot down attempts to throw out the 2020 election results, state lawmakers are working on a plan that could allow judicial seats to be gerrymandered
We've seen similar moves here recently in NC--but at the trial court level, not appellate level #ncpol
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
BREAKING: A federal judge in California orders #2020Census counting to be extended through Oct. 31 nationwide, blocking the Trump administration’s plan to end early. The admin is expected to appeal, further complicating what could be the count’s final days
npr.org/2020/09/24/912071784…
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
There's a new bipartisan Senate bill that could solve a scheduling conundrum that is putting the #2020Census - along with the distribution of political representation and $1.5 trillion a year in federal funding for the next decade - in serious jeopardy.
npr.org/2020/09/15/913163016…
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
Judges say that at least some felons currently barred from voting in NC should be able to cast a ballot in 2020.
One piece of our felon disenfranchisement law, they ruled, looks a whole lot like an unconstitutional poll tax #ncpol #ncga #VotingRights newsobserver.com/news/politi…
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
Today is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day! Several North Carolina counties are still looking for Democracy Heroes. Step up today.
Complete the survey: bit.ly/2Yh8Aj6
#ncpol #YourVoteCountsNC #DemocracyHeroes
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
There are so many geospatial and justice-oriented components to #COVID19 response; thrilled to see that colleagues from my #gerrymandering work are lending a hand! I always say #redistricting is a #publichealth problem – and vice versa. Awesome list, Blake. Glad to be included!
Noticed that a bunch of #redistricting-minded people and orgs are also doing work related to the #COVID19 response. Here's a thread listing what I'm aware of from #redistricting software shops/groups with >10 employees—plus other people's work that caught my attention. 1/
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
If you downloaded the QGIS redistricting plugin, I have now removed the plugin-crashing comma I fat-fingered into a one-line, very simple bug fix I didn’t bother to check. Try again, should work now
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
Great panel on redistricting! Appreciated @districks insight that “The impact of technology on GIS [AKA map drawing] has been compared to the impact of the microscope on biology.” In other words, it’s changed the game--big time. 😬 Let's get Big Data out of redistricting!#HB140NC
Thanks to @hcnc_lwv, @ChuckMcGrady, @TerryVanDuynNC and others for making the great panel about #redistricting possible earlier today. Here's the article I promised about NC districts drawn with a fair process. #FairMaps #NCPol #NCGA #AVLnews #WNC newsobserver.com/news/politi…
Blake Esselstyn, fka districks retweeted
The League of Women Voters of Henderson County (LWVHC) hosted a panel Saturday on redistricting, as the battle continues in North Carolina bit.ly/31ybq22