The U.S. Census Bureau will hold a news conference Thursday to discuss its release of the first local-level results from the 2020 Census.
The Aug. 12 release of the data is four days ahead of the agency’s Aug. 16 self-imposed deadline.
States use the data on race, Hispanic origin, and the voting-age population to redraw the boundaries of congressional and state legislative districts. Most legislators who intend to run for reelection next year have only filed “letters of intent” because they are not sure what the number of their district will be after the lines are drawn.
The release of the data was delayed by months due to the difficulty of conducting the Census in 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic hitting during the data-collecting period.
Some of the data has already been released, but this week’s data will start the clock on the redistricting process in Alaska and other states. The lines for state House and Senate districts are expected to shift as a result in advance of the 2022 midterm election.
In April, the overall population of states was released. Alaska has 733,391 residents, according to the Census.
