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The 2000 United States redistricting cycle took place following the completion of the 2000 United States census. In all fifty states, various bodies re-drew state legislative and congressional districts. States that are apportioned more than one seat in the United States House of Representatives also drew new districts for that legislative body. The resulting new districts were first implemented for the 2001 and 2002 elections, which saw Republicans add eight seats to their U.S. House majority, capture eight state legislative chambers and win a majority of state legislative seats for the first time in half a century.
The districts drawn in the 2000 redistricting cycle remained in effect until the next round of redistricting following the 2010 United States census.
Following the 2000 census, Texas, Florida, Arizona and Georgia each gained two seats, while California, North Carolina, Colorado and Nevada picked up one new seat apiece. [1] New York and Pennsylvania both lost two seats, while Connecticut, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and Mississippi each lost one seat.
The new seats were first contested in the 2002 United States House of Representatives elections.
Eliminated districts | Created districts |
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Most states were redistricted by joint committees of state legislatures, with twelve states having set up either citizen-ran or politically appointed commissions to redraw legislative maps and six states having set up commissions for congressional maps.
In 2002, Republicans gained control of the Texas Legislature for the first time in 130 years, and despite a gain of two seats from the court-ran redraw of the Texas congressional map in 2001, set about to redraw the congressional map for the state to increase Republican gains from a narrow 17D-15R deficit. It led to a protracted standoff between the Democratic and Republican legislative caucuses which ended with the defeat of the Democratic caucus' quorum-busting attempt and the creation of new congressional maps which saw Republicans gain the majority of congressional districts in Texas for the first time since Reconstruction.
After Democrats in the Georgia General Assembly drew legislative and congressional maps which protected against further losses, Republicans sued against the maps on Voting Rights Act grounds. Following the 2004 election, which saw Republicans gain a majority in both houses for the first time in Georgia history, redrew legislative and congressional maps in 2005 [2] after federal judges struck down both maps which were drawn by the 146th legislature as violating the one person, one vote guarantee of the U.S. Constitution, resulting in a reshuffling of districts which took effect in the next legislature which shored up Republican gains in both chambers and in Congress.
These are tables of congressional delegations from the State of Texas to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives.
North Carolina is currently divided into 14 congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. After the 2000 census, the number of North Carolina's seats was increased from 12 to 13 due to the state's increase in population. In the 2022 elections, per the 2020 United States census, North Carolina gained one new congressional seat for a total of 14.
The 2003 Texas redistricting was a controversial intercensus state plan that defined new congressional districts. In the 2004 elections, this redistricting supported the Republicans taking a majority of Texas's federal House seats for the first time since Reconstruction. Democrats in both houses of the Texas Legislature staged walkouts, unsuccessfully trying to prevent the changes. Opponents challenged the plan in three suits, combined when the case went to the United States Supreme Court in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry (2006).
The U.S. state of Alabama is currently divided into seven congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Texas has had at-large congressional seats at various times in its history. It was often the case when the state received new congressional seats as a result of reapportionment, that it would have a representative elected from an at-large seat, voted on by all voters in the state. This enabled the legislature, which was dominated by legislators from rural districts, to postpone re-districting that would reduce their power by apportioning districts to recognize the increased population and economic power of the developing major cities.
The 2010 United States state legislative elections were held on November 2, 2010, halfway through President Barack Obama's first term in office. Elections were held for 88 legislative chambers, with all states but Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia holding elections in at least one house. Kansas and New Mexico held elections for their lower, but not upper houses. Four territorial chambers in three territories and the District of Columbia were up as well.
The 2002 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas occurred on November 5, 2002, to elect the members of the state of Texas's delegation to the United States House of Representatives. Texas had thirty-two seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. The state gained two seats in reapportionment. Democrats narrowly maintained control of the Texas House of Representatives after the 2000 election after heavily emphasizing it as necessary to protect the party from a potential Republican gerrymander. During the 2001 regular session, the divided legislature failed to pass any redistricting plans. Congressional redistricting fell to the courts in Balderas v. State of Texas after no special session was called to address redistricting. While the court's initial map appeared to benefit Republicans, the final maps ordered for the 2002 elections were seen as beneficial to Democrats.
The U.S. state of Arizona, in common with the other U.S. states, must redraw its congressional and legislative districts every ten years to reflect changes in the state and national populations. Redistricting normally follows the completion of the United States census, which is carried out by the federal government the first year of every decade; the most recent census took place in 2020. Historically, Arizona's legislature had control over the redistricting process. However, Proposition 106, passed in 2000, delegated the power to draw congressional and legislative boundaries to a bipartisan independent commission. The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) comprises two Democrats, two Republicans, and one independent chair. County and local redistricting, which normally takes place along the same timeline as congressional and legislative redistricting, is carried out by the individual county and local governments rather than the AIRC.
The 2018 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during Republican Donald Trump's term. Although the Republican Party increased its majority in the Senate, unified Republican control of Congress and the White House was brought to an end when the Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives in what was widely characterized as a "blue wave" election. However, both Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi claimed victory after the results of the midterm elections.
Gerrymandering is the practice of setting boundaries of electoral districts to favor specific political interests within legislative bodies, often resulting in districts with convoluted, winding boundaries rather than compact areas. The term "gerrymandering" was coined after a review of Massachusetts's redistricting maps of 1812 set by Governor Elbridge Gerry noted that one of the districts looked like a mythical salamander.
The 2020 United States redistricting cycle is in progress following the completion of the 2020 United States census. In all fifty states, various bodies are re-drawing state legislative districts. States that are apportioned more than one seat in the United States House of Representatives are also drawing new districts for that legislative body.
REDMAP is a project of the Republican State Leadership Committee of the United States to increase Republican control of congressional seats as well as state legislatures, largely through determination of electoral district boundaries. The project has made effective use of partisan gerrymandering, by relying on previously unavailable mapping software such as Maptitude to improve the precision with which district lines are strategically drawn. The strategy was focused on swing blue states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin where there was a Democratic majority but which they could swing towards Republican with appropriate redistricting. The project was launched in 2010 and estimated to have cost the Republican party around US$30 million.
The 1982 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas occurred on November 2, 1982, to elect the members of the state of Texas's delegation to the United States House of Representatives. Texas had twenty-seven seats in the House, up three from the 1970s, apportioned according to the 1980 United States Census.
The 2020 United States state legislative elections were held on November 3, 2020, for 86 state legislative chambers in 44 states. Across the fifty states, approximately 65 percent of all upper house seats and 85 percent of all lower house seats were up for election. Nine legislative chambers in the five permanently-inhabited U.S. territories and the federal district of Washington, D.C. also held elections. The elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, including the presidential election, U.S. Senate elections, U.S. House elections, and gubernatorial elections.
Redistricting in Wisconsin is the process by which boundaries are redrawn for municipal wards, Wisconsin State Assembly districts, Wisconsin State Senate districts, and Wisconsin's congressional districts. Redistricting occurs—as in other U.S. states—once every decade, usually in the year after the decennial United States census. According to the Wisconsin Constitution, redistricting in Wisconsin follows the regular legislative process, it must be passed by both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature and signed by the Governor of Wisconsin—unless the Legislature has sufficient votes to override a gubernatorial veto. Due to political gridlock, however, it has become common for Wisconsin redistricting to be conducted by courts. The 1982, 1992, and 2002 legislative maps were each created by panels of United States federal judges.
The 2010 United States redistricting cycle took place following the completion of the 2010 United States census. In all fifty states, various bodies re-drew state legislative districts. States that are apportioned more than one seat in the United States House of Representatives also drew new districts for that legislative body. The resulting new districts were first implemented for the 2011 and 2012 elections.
Allen v. Milligan, 599 U. S. ___ (2023), is a United States Supreme Court case related to redistricting under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). The appellees and respondants argued that Alabama's congressional districts discriminated against African-American voters. The Court ruled 5–4 that Alabama’s districts likely violated the VRA, maintained an injunction that required Alabama to create an additional majority-minority district, and held that Section 2 of the VRA is constitutional in the redistricting context.
Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355 (1932), was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States involving a governor's power to veto a congressional redistricting proposal passed by a state's legislature. In an opinion by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, the Court unanimously held that the U.S. Constitution did not prohibit Minnesota's governor from vetoing that state's redistricting map.
The 1990 United States redistricting cycle took place following the completion of the 1990 United States census. In all fifty states, various bodies re-drew state legislative and congressional districts. States that are apportioned more than one seat in the United States House of Representatives also drew new districts for that legislative body. The resulting new districts were first implemented for the 1991 and 1992 elections, which saw Democrats lose nine seats from their U.S. House majority and lose sixteen state legislative chambers but continue to retain a majority of state legislative seats nationwide throughout the decade. To date, it is the last time that Democrats held a majority of state legislative seats throughout an entire census cycle.
Texas House of Representatives districts, Texas Senate districts, Texas Board of Education districts, and Texas's congressional districts are redistricted once every decade, usually in the year after the decennial United States census. According to the Texas Constitution, redistricting in Texas follows the regular legislative process; it must be passed by both houses of the Texas Legislature and signed by the governor of Texas—unless the legislature has sufficient votes to override a gubernatorial veto. Like many other states in the American South after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, federal judges and the United States Supreme Court have struck down Texas's congressional and legislative districts on multiple occasions, including in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.