petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to grant ... - Election Law Blog

petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to grant ... - Election Law Blog petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to grant ... - Election Law Blog

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23aAppendix DDefendants’ experts assert that Plaintiff’s illustrativedistricts result in vote dilution by relying on totalpopulation for district size, rather than consideringcitizen-voting-age-population (“CVAP”). (Def.’s Ex. 4, at12-13; Id. at Ex. 51, at 7-9.) They contend that Mr. Ely’sillustrative districts contain an extremely high number ofnon-citizens, and this will result in the majority Hispanicdistrict exercising voting power that is substantiallymagnified relative to Irving’s other districts. (See id.; TrialTr. vol. 1, 108, Feb. 19.) Dr. Alford testified at trial that“the fact that the other districts will contain much largereligible populations means that their individual votes willcount less. So this will devalue the votes in those districts...” (Trial Tr. vol. 1, 110, Feb. 19.) However, as Dr. Alfordacknowledges, total population (not CVAP) is generallyaccepted as a proper measure for equalizing the size ofdistricts. (Id. at 112.) The Fifth Circuit addressed thiscomplex issue in great detail in Chen v. City of Houstonand concluded that the decision whether to rely on totalpopulation or the eligible-to-vote population in creatingdistricts is a decision best left to the political process. Chenv. City of Houston, 206 F.3d 502, 522-28 (5th Cir.2000).Therefore, the Court concludes that applying the totalpopulation standard on the illustrative districts is entirelyappropriate.b. Estimate Derived from Census and ACS DataIn drawing the illustrative districts, Mr. Ely utilizeddata from the 2000 Census and from the 2006 ACS. (TrialTr. vol. 1, 60-61, Feb. 17.) The 2000 Census was conductedby the Census Bureau and was composed of two parts: the

24aAppendix Done-hundred percent count and the sample count. The onehundredpercent count is collected using the short form,which is-in theory-filled out by every household in theUnited States. The short form data provides informationon total population, voting age population, Hispanic origin,and non-Hispanic origin populations. A sample surveycomponent of the Census is collected through an additionallong form, which is fi lled out by approximately one ineight households. The long form collects demographicinformation such as economic characteristics, primarylanguage, and citizenship.The ACS is another sample survey conducted bythe Census Bureau. It is of relatively recent origin andis intended to replace the Census long form, but it isconducted annually with the results averaged over timeperiods to get the same level of statistical sampling asthe long form. (Id. at 61.) Each year the ACS surveysapproximately 1/1000 households. At the time that Mr.Ely performed his analysis for this case, the 2006 ACSdata was the most current data that had been releasedby the Census Bureau.Mr. Ely based his illustrative districts on his estimatesof Irving’s Hispanic CVAP (“HCVAP”) in 2008. (Id.) Hetestified regarding why he chose to rely on those estimatesand the method he used to calculate them. He initiallyused the ACS to ascertain whether the data from the2000 Census long form remained generally accurate in2006. Mr. Ely explained that in his opinion, the criticalnumber is the ratio between the Hispanic and non-Hispanic share of CVAP, therefore he wanted to measure

24aAppendix Done-hundred percent count and <strong>the</strong> sample count. The onehundredpercent count is collected using <strong>the</strong> short form,which is-in <strong>the</strong>ory-filled out by every household in <strong>the</strong>United States. The short form data provides informationon <strong>to</strong>tal population, voting age population, Hispanic origin,and non-Hispanic origin populations. A sample surveycomponent of <strong>the</strong> Census is collected through an additionallong form, which is fi lled out by approximately one ineight households. The long form collects demographicinformation such as economic characteristics, primarylanguage, and citizenship.The ACS is ano<strong>the</strong>r sample survey conducted by<strong>the</strong> Census Bureau. It is of relatively recent origin andis intended <strong>to</strong> replace <strong>the</strong> Census long form, but it isconducted annually with <strong>the</strong> results averaged over timeperiods <strong>to</strong> get <strong>the</strong> same level of statistical sampling as<strong>the</strong> long form. (Id. at 61.) Each year <strong>the</strong> ACS surveysapproximately 1/1000 households. At <strong>the</strong> time that Mr.Ely performed his analysis for this case, <strong>the</strong> 2006 ACSdata was <strong>the</strong> most current data that had been releasedby <strong>the</strong> Census Bureau.Mr. Ely based his illustrative districts on his estimatesof Irving’s Hispanic CVAP (“HCVAP”) in 2008. (Id.) Hetestified regarding why he chose <strong>to</strong> rely on those estimatesand <strong>the</strong> method he used <strong>to</strong> calculate <strong>the</strong>m. He initiallyused <strong>the</strong> ACS <strong>to</strong> ascertain whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> data from <strong>the</strong>2000 Census long form remained generally accurate in2006. Mr. Ely explained that in his opinion, <strong>the</strong> criticalnumber is <strong>the</strong> ratio between <strong>the</strong> Hispanic and non-Hispanic share of CVAP, <strong>the</strong>refore he wanted <strong>to</strong> measure

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