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

31aAppendix Dare all situated in the southern part of Irving. (Id. at 8-10.)Dr. Rives argued that “the proposed district appears tobe an isolated pocket of little post-censal development,”which leads him to conclude that the illustrative districtsdid not grow at the average rate of the City with respectto total population or HCVAP. (Id. at 10.)Dr. Rives also applied Dallas County tax appraisaldata to Mr. Ely’s illustrative districts, and argues thatthis data demonstrates that the illustrative districts do nothave the “demographic carrying capacity”-the ability ofa district’s housing stock to support projected growth-tosupport the level of growth projected by Mr. Ely. (Defs.’Ex. 5, at 2; Id. at Ex. 35.) Dr. Rives started with thehousing stock in 2000 and then, based on the tax appraisaldata, determined the changes in the housing stock from2000 to 2008 within the illustrative districts. He concludedthat growth in housing stock in the illustrative districtsduring that period was negligible. (Trial Tr. vol. 1, 6, Feb.19.) Dr. Rives then projected the total population of eachof the illustrative districts forward from 2000 to 2008using Mr. Ely’s methodology. Although Mr. Ely restrictedhis projections to Hispanic and non-Hispanic CVAP, Dr.Rives believes if that component of the population growsthen so must the rest of the population. (Trial Tr. vol. 1,3, Feb. 19.) Dividing the projected total population of theillustrative districts for 2008 by their estimated numberof housing units, 8 Dr. Rives concludes that the 20088. Dr. Rives applied a housing occupancy rate in the mid tohigh 90% range, which was the rate reported in the 2000 Census,and which he “assumed to approximate current occupancy levelsreasonably well.” (Defs.’ Ex. 5, at 4.)