2020 U.S. Census Voting District Boundaries and Codes

U.S. Census Bureau provides a series of TIGER/Line shapefiles for Voting Districts (VTDs) from the 2020 census redistricting program. The data includes boundaries, codes, and names for precincts, wards, and election districts submitted by participating states. Each VTD is identified by a unique 1- to 6-character alphanumeric census code within its county.

Use Cases

• Analyze VTD boundary polygons to study electoral district shapes and contiguity for redistricting research.
• Map the unique 1- to 6-character VTD census codes to county-level data for demographic or election result analysis.
• Identify areas where the code 'ZZZZZZ' is used to flag county portions without defined VTDs for coverage gap analysis.
• Combine standalone state shapefiles to create a national coverage map of voting districts for the 2020 census cycle.

Strengths

• Data originates from the authoritative U.S. Census Bureau Master Address File/TIGER Database (MTDB), ensuring official geographic standards.
• Shapefiles are topologically integrated with no overlaps or gaps, providing a seamless national foundation.
• Includes VTDs from states participating in the 2020 Public Law 94-171 redistricting program, capturing official government-submitted boundaries.

Limitations

• Voting districts do not exist for all states, as some did not participate in the program or submit boundaries, creating national coverage gaps.
• As a series-level record, specific details on row counts, file sizes, and sample data for individual state extracts are unavailable.
• The data is static for the 2020 census cycle and may not reflect subsequent boundary changes made by states after submission.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Extracted from the Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database; boundaries and codes were submitted by state governments for the 2020 Public Law 94-171 redistricting program.

Time Range

2020 Census cycle

Freshness

Current as of the 2020 census; last metadata update was 2025-12-25.

Geography

United States, specifically states and counties that participated in the 2020 redistricting program.