Redistricting

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Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. [1] For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. [2]

Contents

The U.S. Constitution in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 provides for proportional representation in the House of Representatives. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 required that the number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives be kept at a constant 435, and a 1941 act made the reapportionment among the states by population automatic after every decennial census. [3] Reapportionment occurs at the federal level followed by redistricting at the state level. According to Colegrove v. Green , 328 U.S. 549(1946), Article I, Section 4 left to the legislature of each state the authority to establish congressional districts; [4] however, such decisions are subject to judicial review. [2] [5] In most states redistricting is subject to political maneuvering, but some state legislatures have created independent commissions. [6]

The Uniform Congressional District Act (enacted in 1967) requires that representatives be elected from single-member districts. When a state has a single representative, that district will be state-wide. [7]

Gerrymandering in the redistricting process has been a problem since the early days of the republic. [8] In recent years, critics have argued that redistricting has been used to neutralize minority voting power. [9] Supporters say it enhances electoral competitiveness. [10]

Legislative representatives

Federal

Allocation of districts following the 2020 census. 2020 census reapportionment.svg
Allocation of districts following the 2020 census.
Partisan control of congressional redistricting after the 2020 elections, with the number of U.S. House seats each state will receive. .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Democratic control Republican control Split or bipartisan control Independent redistricting commission No redistricting necessary USCongressionalRedistrictingPartisanControl2020.svg
Partisan control of congressional redistricting after the 2020 elections, with the number of U.S. House seats each state will receive.
  Democratic control
  Republican control
  Split or bipartisan control
  Independent redistricting commission
  No redistricting necessary

Six states have a single representative in the United States House of Representatives, because of their low populations. [11] These are Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. These states do not need redistricting for the House and elect members on a state-wide at-large basis. [12]

In 25 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to approval by the state governor. [13] To reduce the role that legislative politics might play, thirteen states (Alaska, [a] Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington) determine congressional redistricting by an independent or bipartisan redistricting commission. [14] Five states: Maine, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, [b] and Virginia give independent bodies authority to propose redistricting plans, but preserve the role of legislatures to approve them. Arkansas has a commission composed of its governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.

By law, the forty-four states with more than one representative must redistrict after each decennial census to account for population shifts within the state as well as (when necessary) to add or remove congressional districts. [15] [16] Federal law (including the Constitution) does not prevent states from redistricting at any time between censuses, up to and including redistricting prior to each congressional election, provided such redistricting conforms to various federal laws. [17] However, "mid-decade" redistricting proposals (such as what occurred in 2003 in Texas) have typically been highly controversial. Because of this, many states prohibit mid-decade redistricting, although this is more prevalent for state legislative redistricting than for congressional redistricting. Some also link it to a specific year or to the decennial census. It is unclear to what extent mid-decade redistricting would be legal in those states. [18]

The legality of mid-decade congressional redistricting in the United States Congressional mid-decade redistricting map.png
The legality of mid-decade congressional redistricting in the United States
The legality of mid-decade state-legislative redistricting in the United States State legislative mid-decade redistricting map.png
The legality of mid-decade state-legislative redistricting in the United States

Apart from mid-decade redistricting initiated by state legislatures (as happened in Texas), both federal and state courts can also order the redistricting of certain maps between-censuses (because said maps were ruled unconstitutional or against federal law, for example). Examples of this are the redistricting that occurred between the 2016 and 2018 elections in Pennsylvania or the redistricting that occurred in North Carolina. [19]

State

State constitutions and laws also mandate which body has responsibility over drawing the state legislature boundaries. [20] In addition, those municipal governments that are elected on a district basis (as opposed to an at-large basis) also redistrict. [21]

Redistricting criteria

The Reapportionment Act of 1929 did not state any size and population requirements for congressional districts, last stated in the Apportionment Act of 1911, since the 1911 Act was still in force. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1911 Act was no longer in force even though Congress never repealed it. The previous apportionment acts required districts be contiguous, compact, and equally populated. [22] [23] [24]

Each state can set its own standards for congressional and legislative districts. [25] In addition to equalizing the population of districts and complying with federal requirements, criteria may include attempting to create compact, contiguous districts, trying to keep political units and communities within a single district, and avoiding the drawing of boundaries for purposes of partisan advantage or incumbent protection. [26]

Redistricting may follow other criteria depending on state and local laws: [27]

  1. compactness [28]
  2. contiguity
  3. equal population
  4. preservation of existing political communities
  5. partisan fairness [28]
  6. racial fairness [29]

Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering, the practice of drawing district boundaries to achieve political advantage for legislators, involves the manipulation of district boundaries to leave out, or include, specific populations in a particular district to ensure a legislator's reelection or to advantage their party.

In states where the legislature (or another body where a partisan majority is possible) is in charge of redistricting, the possibility of gerrymandering (the deliberate manipulation of political boundaries for electoral advantage, usually of incumbents or a specific political party) often makes the process very politically contentious, especially when the majorities of the two houses of the legislature, or the legislature and the governor, are from different parties.

Partisan domination of state legislatures and improved technology to design contiguous districts that pack opponents into as few districts as possible have led to district maps which are skewed towards one party. Consequently, many states including Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin have succeeded in reducing or effectively eliminating competition for most House seats in those states. [30] [31] Some states, including New Jersey and New York, protect incumbents of both parties, reducing the number of competitive districts. [32]

The state and federal court systems are often involved in resolving disputes over congressional and legislative redistricting when gridlock prevents redistricting in a timely manner. In addition, those disadvantaged by a proposed redistricting plan may challenge it in state and federal courts. Justice Department approval (which is known as pre-clearance) was formerly required under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in certain states that have had a history of racial barriers to voting. The Supreme Court's ruling on the Pennsylvania redistricting effectively allows elected officials to select their constituents by eliminating most of the grounds for constituents to challenge district lines. [33]

Other redistricting reforms

In addition to the establishments of redistricting commissions in multiple states, proposals have been fielded to draft interstate compacts between states on congressional redistricting. These have been proposed in the legislatures of Maryland and Illinois since the 2010s in order to reduce redistricting-related litigation, prevent partisan "arms races" over reapportionment and partisan gerrymandering, and reduce perceptions of nonpartisan redistricting as unilateral disarmament. [34] To date, no such compacts have been approved by legislature or referendum.[ citation needed ]

U.S. Supreme Court redistricting cases

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Since Alaska only has a single representative, its congressional redistricting laws are not currently in force.
  2. ↑ Since Vermont only has a single representative, its congressional redistricting laws are not currently in force.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerrymandering</span> Form of political manipulation

In representative electoral systems, gerrymandering is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries to advantage a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The manipulation may involve "cracking" or "packing". Gerrymandering can also be used to protect incumbents. Wayne Dawkins, a professor at Morgan State University, describes it as politicians picking their voters instead of voters picking their politicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States congressional delegations from Texas</span>

A long history exists of various individuals serving in the congressional delegations from the State of Texas to the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, with all of this occurring after Texas as a territory was annexed as a State in December 1865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina's congressional districts</span> U.S. House districts in the state of North Carolina

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.

Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts include the United States, the Philippines, and Japan.

League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry, 548 U.S. 399 (2006), is a Supreme Court of the United States case in which the Court ruled that only District 23 of the 2003 Texas redistricting violated the Voting Rights Act. The Court refused to throw out the entire plan, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to state a sufficient claim of partisan gerrymandering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reapportionment Act of 1929</span> United States Law providing for 435 Representatives in the House

The Reapportionment Act of 1929, also known as the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929, is a combined census and apportionment bill enacted on June 18, 1929, that establishes a permanent method for apportioning a constant 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives according to each census. This reapportionment was preceded by the Apportionment Act of 1911, which established the 435-seat size, and followed nearly a decade of debate and gridlock after the 1920 Census. The 1929 Act took effect after the 1932 election, meaning that the House was never reapportioned as a result of the 1920 United States Census, and representation in the lower chamber remained frozen for twenty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida's congressional districts</span> U.S. House districts in the state of Florida

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia's congressional districts</span> U.S. House districts in the state of Virginia

Virginia is currently divided into 11 congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redistricting commission</span>

In the United States, a redistricting commission is a body, other than the usual state legislative bodies, established to draw electoral district boundaries. Generally the intent is to avoid gerrymandering, or at least the appearance of gerrymandering, by specifying a nonpartisan or bipartisan body to comprise the commission drawing district boundaries.

Vieth v. Jubelirer, 541 U.S. 267 (2004), was a United States Supreme Court ruling that was significant in the area of partisan redistricting and political gerrymandering. The court, in a plurality opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia and joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Clarence Thomas, with Justice Anthony Kennedy concurring in the judgment, upheld the ruling of the District Court in favor of the appellees that the alleged political gerrymandering was not unconstitutional. Subsequent to the ruling, partisan bias in redistricting increased dramatically in the 2010 redistricting round.

Davis v. Bandemer, 478 U.S. 109 (1986), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that claims of partisan gerrymandering were justiciable, but failed to agree on a clear standard for the judicial review of the class of claims of a political nature to which such cases belong. The decision was later limited with respect to many of the elements directly involving issues of redistricting and political gerrymandering, but was somewhat broadened with respect to less significant ancillary procedural issues. Democrats had won 51.9% of the votes, but only 43/100 seats. Democrats sued on basis of one man, one vote, however, California Democrats supported the Indiana GOP's plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington's congressional districts</span> U.S. House districts in the state of Washington

The following is a list of the ten congressional districts in the U.S. state of Washington. From the time that Washington Territory was formed in 1853, through statehood in 1889, Washington Territory elected an at-large non-voting Delegate to the United States House of Representatives. At different times in its history, the state of Washington has also elected one or more representatives At-large statewide. Washington gained its 10th district following reapportionment after the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redistricting in Pennsylvania</span>

Redistricting in Pennsylvania refers to the decennial process of redrawing state legislative and federal congressional districts in Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerrymandering in the United States</span> Setting electoral district boundaries to favor specific political interests

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States redistricting cycle</span>

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Gill v. Whitford, 585 U.S. 48 (2018), was a United States Supreme Court case involving the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering. Other forms of gerrymandering based on racial or ethnic grounds had been deemed unconstitutional, and while the Supreme Court had identified that extreme partisan gerrymandering could also be unconstitutional, the Court had not agreed on how this could be defined, leaving the question to lower courts to decide. That issue was later resolved in Rucho v. Common Cause, in which the Court decided that partisan gerrymanders presented a nonjusticiable political question.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redistricting in North Carolina</span> USA gerrymandering controversy (2010-)

Redistricting in North Carolina has been a controversial topic due to allegations and admissions of gerrymandering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redistricting in Wisconsin</span>

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 typically 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 enacted by panels of United States federal judges; the 1964 and 2022 maps were enacted by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

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.

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.

References

  1. ↑ "Boundary Delimitation Glossary". ACE: The Electoral Knowledge Network. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 Goldman, Ari L. (21 November 1986). "One man, one vote: Decades of court decisions". The New York Times .
  3. ↑ "Apportionment Legislation 1890 –Present". U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. Census Bureau. 2008. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010.
  4. ↑ "Proportional Representation". Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  5. ↑ Warren, Earl. "Reynolds v. Sims". Justia. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "Who draws the lines?". All About Redistricting. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  7. ↑ 2 U.S.C.   § 2c
  8. ↑ Griffith, Elmer (1907). The Rise and Development of the Gerrymander. Chicago: Scott Foresman. OCLC   45790508.
  9. ↑ "Gerrymandering could limit minority voters' power even though Census shows population gains". CNBC . 13 August 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  10. ↑ "Why should we care?". All About Redistricting. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  11. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau (April 26, 2021). "2020 Census: Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives". Census.gov.
  12. ↑ 2 U.S.C.   § 2a(c)
  13. ↑ "Who draws the lines?". All About Redistricting. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  14. ↑ "2009 Redistricting Commission Table". National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). June 28, 2008. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  15. ↑ Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1, 18 (1964).
  16. ↑ 2 U.S.C.   § 2a(c).
  17. ↑ League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry, 548 U.S. 399, 447 (2006).
  18. ↑ "National Overview". All About Redistricting. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  19. ↑ League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 181 A.3d 1083 (Pa. 2018)
  20. ↑ Blake, Aaron. "Government Redistricting Web Sites". Purdue University Libraries. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  21. ↑ "California Secretary of State: City and County Redistricting Process". www.sos.ca.gov. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  22. ↑ Apportionment Act of 1842, 5 Stat. 491.
  23. ↑ Apportionment Act of 1862, 12 Stat. 572.
  24. ↑ Vieth v. Jubelirer, 541 U.S. 267, 276 (2004).
  25. ↑ "TheHill.com - Redistricting looms over 2010 landscape". The Hill . Archived from the original on June 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  26. ↑ Miller, Jason C.,Community as a Redistricting Principle: Consulting Media Markets in Drawing District Lines (July 6, 2010). Indiana Law Journal Supplement, Vol. 5, 2010.
  27. ↑ "ArcGIS is Making Redistricting More Efficient and Transparent" (PDF), ArcUser, p. 26, Spring 2018
  28. 1 2 Katz, Jonathan N.; King, Gary; Rosenblatt, Elizabeth (2020). "Theoretical Foundations and Empirical Evaluations of Partisan Fairness in District-Based Democracies". American Political Science Review. 114 (1): 164–178. doi:10.1017/S000305541900056X. ISSN   0003-0554. S2CID   53991300.
  29. ↑ Jacobson, Gary (2013). The Politics of Congressional Elections. New Jersey: PEARSON Education. p. 9.
  30. ↑ Rakich, Ryan Best, Aaron Bycoffe and Nathaniel (2021-08-09). "What Redistricting Looks Like In Every State". FiveThirtyEight . Retrieved 2021-11-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  31. ↑ Wilkes, Mackenzie (2021-10-26). "Americans Don't Trust Their Congressional Maps To Be Drawn Fairly. Can Anything Change That?". FiveThirtyEight . Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  32. ↑ Astor, Maggie (2021-09-16). "Where Redistricting Stands in 14 States". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-11-10.
  33. ↑ "Vieth v. Jubelirer". supct.law.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  34. ↑ Krislov, Zachary (23 Oct 2023). "Reflecting on the 2020 Redistricting Cycle: A Proposal for Interstate Redistricting Agreements". Yale Law School, Public Law Research Paper. 128 Penn St. L. Rev. 433 (2024). SSRN   4591238.

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