Impact of COVID-19 on: 2020 Census Data & Redistricting

The Census Bureau has announced significant operational changes in the wake of COVID-19. Here are the implications of these potential changes on census, apportionment, redistricting and elections.

Proposed Census Timeline Changes:

Enumeration:

Planned Schedule       Revised Schedule
March 12 – July 31      March 12 – October 31

Apportionment Counts:

Planned Schedule       Revised Schedule
March 12 – July 31      *April 30, 2021

Redistricting Counts:

Planned Schedule       Revised Schedule
By April 1, 2021           *July 31, 2021

*Must be approved by Congress

If timeline changes are made:

Two states, Virginia and New Jersey, have primary elections in 2021 that would now take place before they receive census data, making redistricting impossible for state legislative elections.

17 states have initial redistricting deadlines that are earlier than the Census Bureau’s proposed new deadline for delivering data to the states.

13 states have 2022 primary elections in the spring (May 24 or earlier), which could potentially compress election schedules.