This year, the state of Alabama is redrawing its district lines using a flexible geographic information system (GIS)-based online platform. The Alabama Legislative Reapportionment Office procured a web-based redistricting solution from Esri that incorporates the collaborative capabilities of the Web with sophisticated geospatial analysis tools required for redistricting.
While the sharing of proposed district plans on the open web is gaining momentum, Alabama is one of the first states to bring its entire redistricting process online. Alabama opted for the web-based solution because it supports secure development of redistricting plans from numerous locations without the need to purchase, install, and maintain desktop software. Legislators can create plans, share them with specific groups, and evaluate each plan’s viability and integrity before submitting to the Reapportionment Office for final review. The state also chose the online platform because it facilitates collaboration and data sharing with county governments as required by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discriminatory redistricting practices.
Esri’s web-based solutions make it easy to bring transparency to the redistricting process by enabling online sharing of district scenarios and the demographic data behind them. Because Esri redistricting solutions can incorporate basemaps, past census data, existing legislative districts, and projected demographic data, customers can begin to evaluate redistricting scenarios before official 2010 U.S. Census data is released in March. Customers can also incorporate their proprietary information into the application to create a data-rich resource that supports redistricting as well as future legislative and operational decision making.
To learn more about Esri’s redistricting solutions or to request a quote, e-mail [email protected].
