Redistricting Data
You are here: Census.gov › Redistricting Data › About the Program › Public Law 94-171 Requirements
About the Program
Public Law 94-171 Requirements
What does the Public Law 94-171 require us to do? The Census Bureau will inform state governors and legislative leaders at least 4 years before each census of technical guidelines they must follow to obtain population totals for their locally defined voting districts (e.g., election precincts). The Census Bureau will also make public announcements of this program in the Federal Register.
States/Governments wishing to participate in this nonpartisan, voluntary program will submit to the Census Bureau specific boundaries for their voting districts, legislative districts, and desired census block boundaries, following technical criteria established by the Census Bureau, under the provisions of P.L. 94-171.
The Census Bureau will provide small-area population totals to the legislature and governor of each state in a nonpartisan manner, by one year after the census (e.g., April 1, 2011).
Download the Federal Register Notice [PDF 51kb], which announces the establishment of this program.
denotes a file in Adobe’s Portable Document Format. To view the file, you will need the Adobe® Reader® 
available free from Adobe.
This symbol indicates a link to a non-government web site. Our linking to these sites does not constitute an endorsement of any products, services or the information found on them. Once you link to another site you are subject to the policies of the new site.
Email Updates
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
YouTube