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This memo provides quick answers to the most common questions about the redistricting & census
process. This memo is not meant to be a formal legal opinion. It instead attempts to give answers
in a more direct and easier to read fashion. Even in this form, some of the terms used are very
technical in nature, so if you have additional questions, please contact the County Attorney’s
Office at (813) 272-5670.
Please explain what you mean by "minority":
The Federal Government has created several definitions and classifications for
the term "minority." On its most basic level, the term minority is defined as a population group
that has fewer individuals than another population group. For purposes of redistricting, the
Federal Government looks to whether there is a discriminatory effect against the voting rights
of any members of a "racial minority" or a "language or ethnic" minority. All of these definitions
are solely for record-keeping and for enforcement of civil rights laws. The definitions are not
meant to be scientific or genetic in nature, but to reflect the Federal Government's present
view of ancestry, society, and culture.
The Federal Government presently keeps data on the following "racial" groups:
- American Indian or Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the
original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains
tribal affiliation or community attachment.
- Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far
East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India,
Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
- Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the black
racial groups of Africa.
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any
of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
- White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe,
the Middle East, or North Africa.
In addition, the Federal Government keeps data on the following "language" or "ethnic" groups:
- Hispanic or Latino. A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or
Central American, or other Spanish culture, heritage, or origin, regardless of race.
- American Indian, Asian American, & Alaskan Native groups are also incorporated
in this category for consideration of whether such groups are discriminated against because
of their language abilities.
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Why is "Hispanic or Latino" listed on a separate district map?
In Census 2000, the Census Bureau asked individuals to check off one or more of
the above racial categories. The bureau then asked whether or not a person considered themselves
to be Hispanic or Latino. A person can check any of the above racial categories and also check
Hispanic or Latino. Therefore, the data collected from Census 2000 has to be presented on two
different maps to show how individuals classified themselves.
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What is considered a "discriminatory effect?"
A change is considered discriminatory if it will lead to a "retrogression" in
the position of members of a racial or language minority group with respect to their opportunity
to vote. "Retrogression" means making someone worse off than they had been before a change. The
benchmark for determining this effect is the present commission districts, adopted in 1991.
Therefore, the task force will be looking at the population change between Census
1990 and Census 2000 in order to seek a new set of districts that do not cause retrogression.
Any appearance of retrogression will have to be explained to ensure that there is no discriminatory
intent or effect. The Task Force has set a goal of zero retrogression in redistricting. The final
district layout will, however, depend upon all of the factors required to be followed in this
process.
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Why is District 3 often called the "minority district?"
District 3 has been sometimes labeled the "minority" district since its creation
after the 1983 Hillsborough County Charter. The reason for this is under the Federal Voting Rights
Act, the districts were originally drawn to allow a larger concentration of "minority" voters
in one district to increase the likelihood of diversity on the Board of County Commissioners.
In this situation, the term "minority" combined all racial and language minorities into one group.
This includes all of the racial and language or ethnic groups listed previously as adopted by
the Federal Government. That combination created a district that was 36.40% Black or African
American and 15.64% Hispanic or Latino in population. Under these definitions, this combination
allowed a 52.04% "minority" population.
The Task Force has set a goal of not reducing the population percentages in this
district. As stated above, the final district layout will depend upon all of the factors required
to be followed in this process.
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What will the Department of Justice look for when it receives the new
districts?
There are two levels of scrutiny that the Department of Justice will use when
analyzing the new districting plan. These are Section 5 preclearance and Section 2 Review. The
section numbers come from the original bill that passed Congress as the Voting Rights Act and
do not match up directly to their United States Code sections.
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (42 USC 1973c) sets out certain state and local
governments that must seek federal approval ("preclearance") before making a change that would
affect voting rights. Hillsborough County is a preclearance jurisdiction.
The Attorney General has stated that in order to be "precleared," the county must
show that any change which affects voting rights does not have a discriminatory purpose and will
not make racial or language minority voters worse off under the new plan than under the old plan.
In order to do this, the new 2001 districts will be compared with the last precleared districts,
in our case, the 1991 districts.
Section 2 of the Federal Voting Rights Act (42 USC 1973) provides that it is illegal
for state and local governments to use election processes, including commission district plans,
that are not equally open to all voters, or which gives one population less opportunity to participate
in the political process and elect representatives of their choice to political office. The Attorney
General can litigate problems under this section at any time, it is not solely used with redistricting.
Section 2 also includes a prohibition on vote dilution. To show vote dilution,
there must be evidence that voters in the majority are voting as a bloc to preclude the electoral
choice of voters in a geographically distinct minority, even if voters in the minority are unified
in their voting.
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Credits: 42 USC 1973, 28 CFR 51 & 55, the Hillsborough County Charter, and Frequently
Asked Questions, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Voting Section. |
