Finally, Ohio gives a bipartisan supermajority in the legislature redistricting power first, though an independent commission takes over if the legislature fails to reach agreement. Among states where legislatures draw congressional districts, four appoint advisory commissions and three use backup commissions to aid the redistricting process. Advisory commissions influence redistricting plans before they are considered by the legislature, while backup commissions contribute to redistricting plans after legislative review.
In Iowa, Maine, Utah, and Vermont , advisory commissions are appointed to recommend congressional district lines. In three states —Connecticut, Indiana, and Ohio—backup commissions take over the state-level redistricting process if the legislature fails to pass a plan. Several states task political commissions with drawing new congressional districts.
The key difference between political and independent commissions is that elected officials can serve on political commissions. In t hree states—Hawaii, New Jersey, and Virginia—political commissions draw districts. The structure of these commissions varies by state.
Virginia, for example, six legislators and six independent citizens are appointed to its commission. Finally, nine states —Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, New York, and Washington—give independent commissions control over the congressional redistricting process. Members of these commissions cannot be legislators or elected officials, and state laws limit participation by public officials in the redistricting process.
All these states except Colorado and New York ban commission members from running for office for several years in districts they draw. Finally, state legislatures in New York and Washington can override their commissions with a supermajority. As with congressional redistricting, most U.
In 34 states , legislatures control over state-level redistricting occurs, though how state legislative district lines are drawn differs from congressional redistricting. In addition to who leads the congressional redistricting process, state and federal authorities set legal requirements and guidelines to reduce partisan redistricting and protect racial minorities, ethnic groups, and other communities of interest.
Article 1, Section 2 of the U. Supreme Court has read this to mean that congressional districts must contain approximately the same number of people. In addition to the U. Constitution, 14 states apply the same principle to congressional districts. However, even well-known or popular representatives might fear for their jobs, not because of elections, but owing to population changes. Reapportionment and Redistricting.
In the meantime, we have other newsletters that you might enjoy. Find more at www. Census Block-level projections, which are more granular, can be used to measure the impact of a proposed redistricting plan over a ten-year period. Reapportionment vs. Recognizing that reapportionment always involves political motives, the courts have been reluctant to decide the legality of redistricting that favors one political party at the expense of another.
The most significant changes will occur before the election, but the maps are worth watching through the entire decade for subsequent changes. So, what exactly is redistricting and why is it important? Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, In , in Karcher v. Daggett, a five-justice majority rejected the reapportionment of New Jersey into districts, the largest and smallest of which were separated by less than four thousand votes. The Constitution and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14 th Amendment dictate that in any given state, congressional districts and state legislative districts must have equal populations.
The Census. Found insideA concise and provocative introduction to state legislative politics, State Legislatures Today is designed as a supplement for state and local government courses and upper level courses on legislative politics.
Reapportionment and redistricting occurs every 10 years after the census, with states with the fastest-growing populations gaining seats in Congress at the expense of those with slower-growing or. State-level projections can be used to predict the reapportionment of House of Representatives seats. This division was clearest in Lucas v. Forty-Fourth General Assembly of Colorado, involving an apportionment plan that became a state constitutional amendment after adoption, by referendum, by a majority of the voters in every county of the state.
What is reapportionment? In , the U. Found insideErik J. Engstrom offers a historical perspective on the effects of gerrymandering on elections and party control of the U. Redistricting happens every 10 years, after each U.
In this case, however, the Court found that an Indiana state legislative apportionment plan did not dilute the votes of Democrats. Yet, it is unclear what this means for the law and politics of reapportionment. The continuing importance of honest representation has led the Court to hold that partisan gerrymandering is a justiciable issue—Davis v.
In reapportionment cases, the Supreme Court has had a longstanding affinity for the protection of the civil liberties of individuals rather than community interests. After World War II, as American society experienced significant population shifts from rural to urban areas there was increasing pressure on the courts to intervene and protect the fundamental civil liberty of honest representation. Carr overruled Colegrove.
When they reapportioned their states, legislators were encouraged to create districts that contained a majority of residents of ethnic or racial minorities. Epstein, Lee, and Thomas G. Be the first to hear about important news stories with these occasional emails. The location of district lines decide which voters vote for which representative. Click on the wheel to see how. The attempt failed, and Madison was elected — but the American gerrymander had begun.
The district is just a collection of the towns ringing Essex County. In most states, the gerrymander is alive and well, doing bad things. Politicians still carve territory into districts for political gain, usually along partisan lines. This can lead to some serious consequences for the health of the democracy:. Under this system, after the census, the major political parties effectively decided to call a truce, and to keep the congressional incumbents of both parties safe from effective challenges.
Those who have refused to pay? God help them. After the elections in Virginia, the Republicans who controlled the redistricting process targeted Richard Cranwell, the Democratic leader in the state House of Delegates, who had represented his constituents for 29 years. They surgically carved his house out of the district he had represented, and placed it in the district of his year colleague, Democrat Chip Woodrum.
Rather than run against the hometown favorite in an unfamiliar district, Cranwell decided not to run for reelection. Speaker Sheldon Silver was allegedly having an affair with a member of the Assembly, and apparently discovered that Burling was also having an affair, with the same representative. Despite circumstantial evidence produced in court, there have been some heated denials from the parties involved.
When it came time for redistricting, the district Burling had represented was shifted substantially west, to include a popular up-and-coming Republican mayor; Burling retired rather than face the primary challenge.
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