It's time to redraw America's voting maps. Where's the data?

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

Complicating matters, voting rights advocates have said, is that this will be the first redistricting cycle since the Supreme Court eliminated the preclearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act that required states with a history of racial discrimination to prove to the Department of Justice that their electoral maps weren't drawn to dilute the power of voters of color.

The shortened redistricting window leaves less time to challenge maps in the courts as discriminatory, these advocates said.

Every decade, coinciding with the census, states redraw their legislative maps to better reflect where people live.

Li and other advocates say states with single-party control of the map-drawing process and increasingly diverse populations — like Georgia, Florida, Texas and North Carolina — are where this condensed process could create the most headaches.

“The reality is in states like Texas and the South, the key to having fair maps is the ability to litigate, because the maps that come out of the Texas Legislature are never the final maps.

Typically in Texas, Li said, the maps would be drawn by June, giving advocates six months to litigate before the filing period for next year’s primary hits.

Some are urging states to begin the process of redistricting now, even without the data in hand

“Although the Census Bureau’s new timeline for releasing redistricting data will pose challenges, states should now begin taking steps to ensure they conduct a transparent and fair redistricting process,” Holder said in a statement urging virtual hearings for public input and announcing that he’d oppose any efforts to use last decade’s maps

Li also said the delay could offer a unique opportunity for Democrats, who have advocated for voting rights bills, including the John Lewis Voting Rights Restoration Act, which would create a modernized preclearance system and add redistricting rules

It could be the one thing that’s the key to ensuring fair maps, that elections still matter,” Li said