This past weekend, Social Explorer attended the National Conference of States Legislatures (NCSL) Redistricting Seminar in DC.  The two and a half day event brought together legislators, lawyers and redistricting enthusiasts of all kinds to participate in panel discussions and hands-on exercises.

As Nathan Gonzalez wrote in Roll Call, “Some of the most powerful people you’ve never heard of are coming to the Washington, D.C., area this week, and their legacy will last at least a decade…The NCSL seminar marks a final step before the hypothetical maps and strategies move to the reality of the parties drawing new maps in each state.”

The American Community Survey (ACS) was one of the valuable redistricting resources discussed at the conference.  The 2005-09 ACS offers recent data and a count of the Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP)–useful when considering how to draw district lines.  Earlier this month, Social Explorer made this wealth of ACS demographic data available to users.

Social Explorer users can quickly and easily access the same data tools that the professionals redistricters use.