Data from the U.S. Census Bureau is received and processed so it can be used for redistricting. Specialized redistricting geographic information systems are required to process the data to develop plan maps. Demographic thematic maps, electoral history data, voter registration information and other specialized data are utilized to create plans.
The Board of Trustees will develop an illustrative plan and publish it for public comment. Comments may be received by means of written or oral comment at a public hearing.
After the Board of Trustees holds a public hearing on the issues and public comments are received, they will adopt a map that details the new boundaries of each district.
Since the State of Texas is a jurisdiction covered by Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act (the "Act"), any redistricting plan must be submitted to the Justice Department for review prior to taking effect. Section 5 of the Act gives the Justice Department the duty of reviewing any change in any "standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting" to for preclearance. 28 C.F.R. §§ 51.20-51.28.
The Justice Department has 60 days in which to preclear a submitted change. If the Justice Department requests additional information to assist them in their review of the change, the 60-day clock starts running from the date the additional information is received by the Justice Department. Instead of seeking preclearance through the Justice Department submission process, Dallas College could choose to seek preclearance by filing a lawsuit in the federal court for the District of Columbia. In either case, Texas cannot implement any change subject to Section 5 (e.g., redistricting plans) until the change has been precleared.