The complete data, which was released by the U.S. Census Bureau earlier in the day, will be used to determine population distribution in North Carolina and might impact the political makeup of the state's congressional delegation and the General Assembly. William R. Gilkeson, an attorney in the Research Division of the legislature, said the redistricting process will be similar to the regular legislative process but has several key differences. He said the governor will not have the power to veto redistricting plans, unlike other legislation.
Public hearings will be held across the state to give N.C. residents an opportunity to hear firsthand the tentative procedures of the plans and voice suggestions and concerns, Gilkeson said.
After the plans are passed and ratified by the N.C. General Assembly, they must be cleared by the U.S. Justice Department under the Voting Rights Act, he said.
The process should be completed by the start of the candidate filing period for the state Legislature, which is the first Monday in January 2002, Gilkeson said.
But Gilkeson said there are several things which might affect this schedule, such as a Utah lawsuit challenging the census results. The lawsuit's outcome will determine whether North Carolina or Utah receive another U.S. House seat.
Jerry Cohen, the bill drafting director in the Legislature, said the redistricting system has three data components from all 100 N.C. counties covering population, voter registration and past election results. Cohen said the population data is broken down by race into six categories, including a multiracial option.
Voter registration was also obtained from all 100 counties, showing registration by precinct, and then broken down by party and race. The data will also show voters' gender for each precinct, as well as four age categories, Cohen said.
The election data covers mainly statewide races occurring in 1998 and 2000, as well as the 2000 elections to the General Assembly, Cohen said.
Dennis McCarty, ISD director, said the goal of the company's staff is to provide advice and assistance to the redistricting committees in the state Legislature. ISD will provide technical training to the members of the committees. "All (ISD) members are trained on the software to help senators and representatives and answer any questions they might have," McCarty said.
