areas of expertise
Contact us to learn more about our areas of expERTISE
voting rights & VRA Compliance
Blockwell Consulting, LLC specializes in voting rights. We work as consulting and testifying experts for Voting Rights Act (VRA) Section 2 vote dilution and vote denial cases, VRA Section 203 language minority cases, redistricting, and accessibility assessments for voters with disabilities. To do this, we conduct racially polarized voting (RPV) analyses, district line drawing, assessments of legal disparate impact, and distance analyses. We also work with clients prior to litigation to draw legally defensible districts at the state, county, and local levels.
We are experts in ecological inference methods including homogeneous precincts analysis, ecological regression, King’s Bayesian ecological inference, and a newer Bayesian method called RxC ecological inference. We’ve also drawn and assessed thousands of maps across the United States for state, county, and local jurisdictions. To do this work, we maintain expertise in US Census Bureau data and public administration data (more on that below). You can read more about some of our case work on our Legal Work page.
We served multiple redistricting commissions during the 2020 redistricting cycle. We were proud to be the sole RPV statistical expert for the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission analyzing over 700 electoral contests. We also prepared Montana's prisoner reallocation data for their statewide redistricting. You can read more about our commission work here.
As part of our voting rights portfolio, we also conduct a wide range of voting rights research. You can read more about our research on our Reports and Publications page.
Criminal legal system
Blockwell Consulting, LLC specializes in research on the United States criminal legal system and the racial disparities in our legal systems. Dr. Gall also focused her two Master’s Theses on the ‘broken windows’ theory of policing.
Just last year we worked with clients to produce a major report on the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) which was read into the Congressional record.
other civil rights issues
In addition to our main focal areas of voting rights and the criminal legal system, Blockwell Consulting also works across civil rights issues including racial and ethnic discrimination in employment, housing, and education. We have experience examining disability rights and issues for unhoused people. These disciplines often rely on the same data and showings of disparate impact we see in voting rights litigation. We have experience conducting these analyses for policy research as well as for legal issues and legal teams.
data & open-source software
Our work relies on US Census Bureau and public administration data, and we maintain these data expertise in order to serve our clients. We use these data for research and analysis, and also to create moving data graphics. Dr. Gall additionally maintains her GIS Professional certification for the GIS Certification Institute as maps are among the most powerful data graphics.
We also rely on open-source and free software which includes, among others, R Statistics and QGIS. This allows us to focus on and provide clients with scientifically reproducible and transparent analyses. This also allows us to keep costs down for clients while offering training in systems they can access themselves.