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Jan 30, 2019 · A guide to who controls the redistricting process in all 50 states. Every ten years, states redraw the boundaries of their congressional and state legislative districts after the census. Who does the line drawing varies state by state. The way districts are drawn can have a big impact on both voters and politicians.
Setting the boundaries of states' congressional districts is the responsibility of state governments, who often gerrymander districts for various reasons. Districts may sometimes retain the same boundaries, while changing their district numbers.
Oct 30, 2023 · All states established new congressional districts in 2022, with the exception of the six single-member states (Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming). How does the Census Bureau acquire the Congressional District boundaries?
- State Legislatures
- Advisory Bodies
- Independent Commissions
- Political Appointee and Politician Commissions
In around half the states, legislatures continue to be responsible for drawing and passing redistricting plans. Generally, plans need only a simple majority in each chamber of the legislature to pass and are subject to veto by the governor. However, Connecticut requires a two-thirds majority in each house to approve a plan, and there is no gubernat...
In eight states, advisory bodies recommend redistricting plans to the legislature, which then decides whether to approve them. In seven of the eight states, the body responsible for recommending maps is an advisory commission consisting of legislators, non-legislators, or a mix of the two. In Iowa, however, the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Servi...
Independent commissions are made up of members who are neither public officials nor current lawmakers and are selected with the help of a screening process conducted by an independent entity. That screening process vets would-be commissioners for conflicts of interest and, in some states, also makes an assessment of applicants’ skills, qualificatio...
Unlike independent commissions, political appointee commissions and politician commissions are more closely connected to the political process. Members of political appointee commissions are nonelected officials, but are directly selected by elected officials or, in some states, by political parties. In general, political appointee commissions have...
Seven states — Arkansas, Hawaii, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia — draw state legislative districts with so-called “politician commissions,” where elected officials may serve as members. (Hawaii, New Jersey, and Virginia use politician commissions for congressional districts.) Each, again, is a bit different.
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.
People also ask
What are the boundaries and numbers for congressional districts?
Who sets the boundaries of States' congressional districts?
What is a congressional district?
Who redraws congressional districts?
Nov 9, 2022 · Who draws congressional districts? States have different entities in charge of redrawing congressional districts. Some states – such as Washington, California, Arizona, and others – have independent or bipartisan commissions in charge. However, most states have legislators who draw district lines.
