The goal of the 1980 Election Precinct Program was to provide each State with population counts by April 1, 1981, for their use in revising State legislative districts and Congressional Districts. A State could select a number of methods for receiving the data, but every State, regardless of participation, would receive population counts for the legal and statistical entities in that State by April 1, 1981. The program offered the opportunity for States to get these population counts tabulated by election precinct.
The Census Bureau offered three separate options for participating in the Election Precinct Program: (1) the plan, (2) the alternative approach, and (3) the enumeration district plan. The first of these options, the plan option, allowed a State to submit election precinct boundaries following criteria established by the Census Bureau. The deadline for submitting boundaries, April 1, 1977, reflected the legal requirements established in H.R. 1753. Eighteen States submitted geographic plans to the Census Bureau by this deadline. After comprehensive review and negotiations with the submitting authorities, the Census Bureau approved election precinct plans for all or part of 15 States.
When it became apparent that only 15 States were either willing or able to freeze their election precinct boundaries by April 1, 1977, the Census Bureau decided to offer two additional options for participation in the Election Precinct Program. The first of these additional options, presented in two versions, was known as the alternative approach. This option allowed participating States to develop election precinct plans using a listing of block numbers that reflected the association between these precincts and higher levels of geography within the county—census tracts or block numbering areas (BNAs), places, and county subdivisions. Twenty-nine States participated in this option with the assistance of staff from the Census Bureau.
