BBSP Verification Quick Start Guide

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Block Boundary Suggestion Project Verification (BBSPV)
Quick Start Guide

GUPS Web, GUPS Standalone, and Non-GUPS Participants
Getting Started
The partnership shapefile suite used for BBSPV (PVS_26) has been updated from the partnership shapefile
suite used for BBSP (PVS_25). Updates made during BBSPV must be based on the new PVS_26 partnership
shapefiles. We can no longer accept updates based on the PVS_25 shapefiles.
The prototype block shapefiles used for BBSPV (bbspv27) have been updated from those used for BBSP
(bbsp26). These newer prototype block shapefiles reflect the updates made during BBSP.

If you are using GUPS Web to perform BBSPV:
•
•

The appropriate GUPS Web version is automatically available from <insert link>.
The appropriate partnership and prototype block shapefiles are automatically available in GUPS
Web for the start of BBSPV.

If you are using GUPS Standalone to perform BBSPV:
1. Install the updated GUPS Software. Make sure you install<GUPS X.X> replacing <GUPS X.X>.
2. Creating your Project:
a. If you participated in BBSP in 2026, select Block Boundary Suggestion Project Verification, and
then state and county from the Map Management screen. Any updates made in BBSP will be
reflected in this new data and the new prototype block shapefile.
b. If you did not participate in the BBSP in 2026, select Block Boundary Suggestion Project, and
then your state and county from the Map Management screen.
c. When prompted to select the data source, the new partnership and prototype block shapefiles
are automatically downloaded using Census Web or you can manually download from the
partnership page or FTP site and then load them into GUPS using the My Computer option. We
strongly recommend use of the Census Web option.
• For more information on selecting a data source, refer to the sections in the BBSPV GUPS
Standalone Guide for Accessing the Census Bureau Spatial Data Through the Census Web
Option or Accessing the Census Bureau Spatial Data Through the My Computer Option.

If you are using your own GIS to perform BBSPV:
The BBSPV partnership shapefiles (PVS_26) are available for download on the partnership shapefiles
website and on the FTP site. The BBSPV prototype block shapefiles (bbspv27) are available for download
on the FTP site. For more information, refer to the section in the BBSPV Non-GUPS Guide on Obtaining
Census Shapefiles.

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How to use the BBSPV Users Guides
The guides are lengthy; however, please keep in mind that there are more screenshots than text and these
screenshots prove to be very helpful in describing the required steps and expected results. We
recommend:
1. For GUPS participants, reading the Block Boundary Suggestion Project Verification Overview
section.
2. For both GUPS and non-GUPS participants, reviewing the Suggested Workflow section to
determine what updates you want to perform during BBSPV.
a. The most common updates include road updates, boundary corrections (including legal
updates), and block boundary flagging.
3. For GUPS participants, understanding the instruction in the Reviewing Your Block Boundary
Suggestions section to perform verification of your previous BBSP submission if you submitted
Must Holds and Do Not Holds during BBSP. For non-GUPS participants, understanding the
instruction in the Performing BBSP Verification section to perform verification of your previous
BBSP submission if you submitted Must Holds and Do Not Holds during BBSP.
Keep in mind, if you did not participate in BBSP from January 2026 through May 2026, we are still
accepting BBSP updates, and you can perform verification of these updates during Phase 2, the Voting
District Project (VTDP) in 2028.

FYIs
We strongly recommend that you use the GUPS Web or GUPS Standalone to make updates. GUPS
generated change files are generally of better quality than those created using a local GIS, i.e., the nonGUPS generated updates.
Please submit your work as early as possible and on a flow basis. This allows the Redistricting & Voting
rights Data Office (RVDO) staff to thoroughly review your updates and allows time to work with you if
there are issues with your submission.
When you know the counties for which you will not be performing updates, please send an email to
<[email protected]>, at your earliest convenience, with a list of those counties.

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