The 2020 decennial census was problematic from the beginning and could lead North Carolina down a rabbit-trail of problems.
There were issues from the get-go, as the count was launched in the throes of a pandemic, when most of us were confined to our homes. It differed from previous efforts by attempting to eliminate the use of paper to collect data, instead requesting us to go online to register. States like ours, where access to the Internet is problematic, suffered.
As if the pandemic and the new self-reporting system werenât problems enough, the Trump administration tried to insert politics into the count by insisting the survey include a question of a personâs citizenship. Court cases ensued and it wasnât until June that the US Supreme Court finally ruled citizenship questions could not be included.
Submitted by BlueNC on
Fri, 04/30/2021 - 08:46
WOODHOUSE CITES WATER COOLER TALK FOR HIS GERRYMANDERING PREDICTION: “Carolina Journal has learned that GOP redistricting leaders will consider approving a new map designed to elect a 10 Republicans and four Democrats beginning in 2022,” an early version of the article said. The article was later edited, softening Woodhouse’s prediction of a 10-4 split. But the report spread quickly among North Carolina politicos, sparking early debate over how lawmakers will redraw the districts. Woodhouse’s article also suggested the new district
could be drawn specifically for House Speaker Tim Moore a Republican from Cleveland County, west of Charlotte, who will have personal influence over the map-making process. Moore also said he is not planning to run for Congress, but plans to run for state House again.
The disappointing rabbit-trail census
There were issues from the get-go, as the count was launched in the throes of a pandemic, when most of us were confined to our homes. It differed from previous efforts by attempting to eliminate the use of paper to collect data, instead requesting us to go online to register. States like ours, where access to the Internet is problematic, suffered.
As if the pandemic and the new self-reporting system weren’t problems enough, the Trump administration tried to insert politics into the count by insisting the survey include a question of a person’s citizenship. Court cases ensued and it wasn’t until June that the US Supreme Court finally ruled citizenship questions could not be included.
HENDERSON â Vance County Schools Superintendent Tony Jackson said he and other system officials are âpleased to see movementâ in a long-running court case that asks state officials to live up to the requirement that they provide students access to a sound, basic education in all 100 counties.
His comments came in a week that saw state officials file a proposed âcomprehensive remedial planâ in the so-called Leandro case that calls for major changes to education budgets and funding. The Vance County Schools are one of the original plaintiffs in the case, which has been going on since 1994.
The plan addresses seven key issues that the judge presiding over the case, Superior Court Judge David Lee, said last year he wants the state to deal with âexpeditiously and without delayâ to bring its network of public K-12 school in line with the requirements of North Carolinaâs constitution.