This article is published in NBC News and is published by Jane C. Timm:

The high-stakes process of redrawing the nation’s voting maps should already be underway.

There’s just one problem: The data states need isn’t ready yet.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced last week that the population data necessary for redistricting, which occurs after every decennial count, would be again delayed until Sept. 30, citing issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic. This will give states just less than half the time to tackle the complicated task than in other years, as the process must be completed before each state’s primary filing deadline so candidates know which voters they should be courting.

Read the full article here.