One of the first legal responsibilities of the Washington State Redistricting
Commission is the prompt delivery of official Census 2000 Redistricting
Data to the county legislative authorities, auditors and other entities
responsible for local government redistricting. This requirement is specified
in the Local Government Redistricting sections of Chapter
29.70 of the Revised Code of Washington.
To this end, the Washington State Redistricting Commission has
begun the process of transmitting two CD-ROMs of official census redistricting
data to local government organizations. The first disc, the Census 2000
Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171) Summary File, contains population information*.
The second contains the Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line® geography
information. (Please note that the CD-ROMs can be easily duplicated
with common CD-ROM burners.)
Letter to Redistricters
It’s become clear that a technical and crucial clarification
must be made between the boundaries of voting districts and official precincts.
The Summary File CD-ROM, containing Census Bureau population data, may
provide the false impression that voting districts and precinct boundaries
are identical. In reviewing the TIGER/Line® geography it’s particularly
significant that even when the numbers and names of voting districts exactly
match the numbers and names of official precincts, the boundaries may
not match up. More...
Population Data
The Redistricting Data Summary files (with internal
browser software) are also available for download on
this Web site or by visiting the Office of Financial Management’s Web
site at http://www.ofm.wa.gov/.
Geographic Data
Copies of the Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line®
files can be downloaded
from this Web site. The files, along with technical information, can
also be obtained from the bureau’s Web site at http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/rd_2ktiger/tgr2kweb.html.
Maps
Electronic (.PDF) files of Census 2000 County Block
Maps, Tract Outline Maps and Voting District/State Legislative District
Outline Maps, which contain TIGER/Line® geography only, can be downloaded
from the bureau’s Redistricting Data Map Products Web site, http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/rd_2ktiger/pl_maps/pl_maps.html#tract.
Paper copies of the census maps are also available from the Commission
upon request.
Assistance
To assist recipients with the initial use of the Redistricting
Data Summary files, a nine-page manual of basic user information will
be enclosed with the delivered data. Help files and extensive technical
documentation materials are also included in the CD-ROM.
Additionally, the Marketing Services Office of the Census Bureau
has also developed a new Web site offering technical guidance in using
and understanding the Census 2000 redistricting data products. For more
information, please visit http://www.census.gov/mso/www/rsf/index.html.
Questions regarding local government data delivery can be addressed to
commission staff at (360) 586-9000 or contact@redistricting.wa.gov.
*The population figures do not reflect adjustment for coverage
errors in Census 2000 as measured by the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation.