CENSUS

The U.S. Constitution empowers the Congress to carry out the census in "such manner as they shall by Law direct" (Article I, Section 2). The Founders of our fledgling nation had a bold and ambitious plan to empower the people over their new government. The plan was to count every person living in the newly created United States of America, and to use that count to determine representation in the Congress.

Enshrining this invention in our Constitution marked a turning point in world history. Previously censuses had been used mainly to tax or confiscate property or to conscript youth into military service. The genius of the Founders was taking a tool of government and making it a tool of political empowerment for the governed over their government.

They accomplished that goal in 1790 and our country has every 10 years since then.  To learn more about the Census, visit Census in the Constitution.

REDISTRICTING

Redistricting, the process of drawing electoral district boundaries, takes place in the United States following the completion of each decennial census, to account for population shifts. The rules for redistricting vary from state to state, but all states draw new legislative maps either in the state legislature, in redistricting commissions, or through some combination of the two. 

In Georgia, the state legislature has primary control of the redistricting process, both for state legislative districts and for congressional districts.

District lines pass just like regular legislation, with a majority vote in each legislative chamber; the first draft is often done by legislative committees.

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