Please explain what Census Blocks are, how they can be found on the Proposed Redistricting Map, and what information is available on the map about each Census Block?

The U.S. Census Bureau creates Census Blocks for each decennial census. For the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau identified 780 Census Blocks in Goochland. Census Blocks are the geographical areas about which the Census Bureau reports its data. In creating a redistricting map, we cannot divide a Census Block; our proposed districts and precincts are created by bundling together Census Blocks.

Census Blocks are required to have clearly observable boundaries, generally those are streets, highways, rivers, or creeks. On the Proposed Redistricting Map, black lines show Census Block boundaries.

Each Census Block on the Proposed Redistricting Map contains a listing of three numbers: the first number (4-digits) is a shortened Census Block Identifier; the second number is the Adjusted Population from the Census Bureau. The third number is not from the Census Bureau data, but is the number of Registered Voters residing in that Census Block based on data from Goochland County’s General Registrar as of November 10, 2021. The number of Registered Voters is included because that number is needed to create proposed precincts.

In a number of instances in the Proposed Redistricting Map, the number of Registered Voters in a Census Block is larger than the Adjusted Population number. This is because of the differences between the two data sets. The Adjusted Population is a number provided by the Census Bureau based on its collection of data from residents in the 2019-2020 time period. The Registered Voter data comes from the General Registrar’s database and is current as of November 10, 2021. The gap in time between the two data sets is significant: between June 2020 (when the Census Bureau should have been finished collecting data) and now, the number of Registered Voters in Goochland has increased by 1,586.

So, for instance, look at Census Block 1003 in District 5 near the border with District 4. The Adjusted Population in that Census Block is 17 and the number of Registered Voters is 88. Census Block 1003 encompasses a portion of the Mosaic subdivision which is under construction; accordingly, there were few residents in that area when the 2020 Census data was being collected, but many more who built, moved in, and have registered as voters by November 10, 2021.

Show All Answers

1. What are the small shaded areas throughout the map?
2. Please explain what Census Blocks are, how they can be found on the Proposed Redistricting Map, and what information is available on the map about each Census Block?
3. Why are there only two precincts in each Election District? Could more be created?
4. Will the County’s Redistricting Map have to be submitted to and approved by the U.S. Department of Justice?
5. Will the County’s Redistricting Map have to be submitted to and approved by the Virginia Attorney General?
6. Under the Proposed Redistricting Map, which voters in Goochland County will be in Virginia House of Delegates District 57?
7. The Board of Supervisors directed staff not to consider incumbency in drawing the new local election districts. Are the members of the Board of Supervisors still located in their current districts und
8. If the Board of Supervisors members don’t still live in the district they represent, can they continue to serve as the Board representative for their district?
9. How will Goochland voters know their districts, precincts, and polling places after a new redistricting map is adopted?
10. How do I lookup my address on the Redistricting Map?