Census data drop sets off redistricting scramble: The Note

The big-picture census numbers are expected to show a rapidly diversifying nation, but there's no guarantee that any such diversity will be reflected in representation.

The TAKE with Rick Klein The biggest midterm development of the week -- if not the year or even the next decade -- comes Thursday in a massive dump of data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Local-level demographic results from the 2020 census, set for release around a 1 p.m. ET news conference, will set off a scramble to redraw congressional and state legislative districts that pits power against power at the state level and, inevitably, in courtrooms across the country. The big-picture numbers are expected to show a rapidly diversifying nation in a mostly pre-COVID snapshot; all counts are as of April 1, 2020. There's no final guarantee that any such diversity will be reflected in representation after the state-by-state battles settle in districts and will be in place for the next 10 years.