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In August, the U.S. Census Bureau released detailed information from the 2020 census showing how Minnesota’s population has changed over the last ten years, giving insight to how redistricting might affect certain populations. While the early census data remains in a format that is not user friendly for the average user (more accessible information is due mid-September), it reveals the changing demographics within Minnesota.
According to the data, the seven core counties in the Twin Cities have grown steadily while the greater Minnesota population has remained static. In 2010, about 83 percent of Minnesotas were non-hispanic whites, but based on survey research over the past decade, the 2020 count will likely be 79 percent or below. The Black population has risen almost two percentage points while Asian and Hispanic populations have risen just under one percentage point each.
Voices for Racial Justice, a non-profit organization fighting for equal representation as the state’s population changes, has joined Common CauseMN and OneMN.org in pending litigation to ensure accurate representation of Minnesota’s growing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the new district maps.
Redistricting is generally completed every decade to adjust for changing demographics and to keep each district approximately the same size. The number of congressional and state legislative districts won’t change this year, but the boundaries of existing districts will shift. In theory, redrawn districts could allow for more proper distribution of resources and representation that reflect the people who live there. But political partisanship makes it possible for maps to be drawn that favor a certain party.
Redistricting remains a contentious topic in Minnesota, as both Democrats and Republicans disagree on district maps for the state. With the current House under DFL control and the Senate under the Republicans, the decision is likely to cause a deadlock. Litigation regarding redistricting has led to the courts drawing their own maps every single redistricting year in the state since 1966. This year, community organizers like Voices for Racial Justice have joined in on taking legal action for fair representation.
Mónica Maria Hurtado, Racial Justice and Health Equity Organizer at Voices for Racial Justice, says that in the past the redistricting process has failed to consider the interests of BIPOC communities. “Generally the legal process tends to be very intimidating and hard to understand. As we learn more, we want to insert the voices of the BIPOC community with this litigation.”
According to Hurtado, Minnesota has the highest self-response rate out of any other state, with 75 percent of Minnesotans reporting to the census. “We know that if you self-respond to the census, you tend to report things more accurately. The other 25 percent of incomplete questionnaires are likely people of color. Though no one can exactly prove that, it is likely the case given a long history of distrust and fear for underrepresented and historically undercounted communities.”
But the census numbers are not necessarily the reality. “Say you live in North Minneapolis and you depend on public transportation, if the maps show fewer people live there than what is accurate, those citizens can lose out on investments for things like buses or the light rail,” Hurtado said.
With political interest at the center of the redistricting dispute, Voices for Racial Justice’s main goal is to honor communities on the ground by opting for redistricting principles like communities of interest in order to create maps that can address racial disparities.
“There are two Minnesotas, one for white people and one for people of color,” Hurtado says. “Mapping is about showing the number of people living in a district, but we need to be drawing maps that keep the interest of people with the highest disadvantages.”
