Communication 12.2 Questions and Answers from Brenda Ford

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The software will show you a entire island map in different colors for each district so you can see what each district’s “shape” is. Individual mapping will be much faster than asking the Office of Elections to create nine versions for you to discuss; however, you may use the Office of Elections to draw any version or the public computers. The Clerk can guide you on your budget for purchasing any items you may need. In lieu of obtaining a sub-set software package, the county will provide two public computers, one in each of the Office of Elections in Hilo and Kona, for you to use. Those computers are also available to the public to draw their maps. There may be some competition for those computers. You may want to discuss with the Clerk any rules for use of the public computers to reduce possible problems in multiple people trying to use the public computers simultaneously. Mr. Melrose also mentioned other GIS software that may be able to do the mapping and the deviation calculations. 5.Why do we need census maps? A:It takes approximately 75 census maps to show all of the census blocks and census tracts around the island. The maps can assist the commission is easily locating a particular census block so you can determine if that census block should be in district A or district B based on a community of common interest. The maps are approximately 3 feet square and can be purchased from the census bureau. Sub-set software can also be used to locate the census blocks. The Office of Elections can also locate the census block, but seeing its location on a map can be informational. You may also want to purchase the zip code maps; they were not helpful to me, but may be to the commission. For me, other types of maps from the census bureau were not helpful. 6.When does the Office of Elections need to describe in writing the official district boundaries of the final map? A:The Office of Elections would be wasting its time to begin describing in writing the district boundaries until the final map is determined by the commission. 7.When will you receive training on how to do redistricting legally? A:Mr. Udovic provided an excellent introduction to redistricting from the Revolutionary War forward in time. You may want to consider asking him to provide training from the manual, “How to Draw Redistricting Plans that Stand Up in Court.” A copy has been provided to you through the Clerk’s office. That manual is a goldmine of information, contains most of the U.S. Supreme Court case references to justify why each criterion is necessary. It was written by Peter S. Wattson, the former legal counsel to the Minnesota State Senate. He is a brilliant man, and his manual may save you a lot of time and frustration. He is now employed as legal counsel to the Governor of Minnesota. He is not available to train since the redistricting is going on in Minnesota, and he has severe work demands in his capacity as counsel to the