A Citizen’s Guide to Redistricting
Publications
Download Guide | Redistricting Project | About the Authors
Our representatives in local, state, and federal government set the rules by which we live. In ways large and small, they affect the taxes we pay, the food we eat, the air we breathe, the ways in which we make each other safer and more secure. Periodically, we hold elections to make sure that these representatives continue to listen to us.
All of our legislators in state government, many of our legislators in local government, and most of our legislators in Congress are elected from districts, which divide a state and its voters into geographical territories. In most of these districts, all of the voters are ultimately represented by the candidate who wins the most votes in the district. The way that voters are grouped into districts therefore has an enormous influence on who our representatives are, and what policies they fight for. For example, a district composed mostly of farmers is likely to elect a representative who will fight for farmers’ interests, but a district composed mostly of city dwellers may elect a representative with different priorities. Similarly, districts drawn with large populations of the same race, or ethnicity, or language, or political party are more likely to elect representatives with the same characteristics.
Every so often, a state’s district lines—for both Congress and the state legislature—are redrawn, grouping different sets of voters together in new ways. Sometimes,
the way that a particular district is redrawn directly affects who can win the
next election. And together, the way that the districts are redrawn can affect the
composition of the legislative delegation or legislature as a whole. Many believe
that we would have different representatives, federal and state, if the district
lines were drawn differently.
In addition to affecting large political trends, the way that district lines are drawn can have very specific consequences. For instance, in some cases, new lines may be redrawn to leave an incumbent’s house out of the district she used to represent, making it difficult or impossible for her to run for re-election to represent most of her old constituents unless she moves. Other times, lines may be drawn to include the homes of two incumbents in the same party, forcing them to run against each other or retire, and in either case, knocking one of them out of the legislature. Often, sitting legislators from the party controlling the legislature are also in control of drawing new lines, leaving them free to target challengers, or legislators from an opposing party.
Occasionally, the process of redrawing district lines gets a lot of attention.
In 2003, there was a big controversy in Texas; one party tried to redraw the
district lines for Congress after a court had already redrawn the lines just a few
years before, and legislators in the other party actually fled the state—twice—to try to stop the redrawing.
More often, this “redistricting” gets much less attention in the press. But even when it does not make the front page, it is extremely important in determining which communities are represented and how vigorously—which is in turn extremely important to determining which laws get made.
There are many different ways to figure out which voters are grouped together to elect a representative. Whether the way that districts are currently drawn in any given state is good or bad depends on what you believe the goals of the process to be. Some stress objectivity; some independence; some transparency, or equality, or regularity, or other goals entirely. There is ample debate among scholars, activists, and practitioners about the role of political insiders, the natureof protection for minority rights, the degree of partisan competition or partisan inequity, and the ability to preserve established or burgeoning communities. But to date, this discussion has been inaccessible to most of the people directly affected.
This publication is intended to present the redistricting process for state and federal government, and for many local governments, in digestible parts. There are many moving components, complex issues that we attempt to describe in simple and straightforward fashion, piece by piece. This is a guide for the rules for drawing district lines—a description of how it works today, how it could work in the future, and what it all means. Consider it an owners' manual, for those who should own the process: we, the people.
About the Brennan Center's Redistricting Project
The Brennan Center is a leader in the fight for just and equitable redistricting
procedures across the country. We are currently counseling advocates in the
Midwest on how best to maximize their goals of diversity, accountability, and
fairness through redistricting reform. Building on our analyses of successful
and unsuccessful reform initiatives in states like Arizona, California, and Ohio,
and our extensive study of redistricting practices nationwide, we have submitted
testimony and helped draft legislation to shape and advance the reform agenda.
We have also filed friend-of-the-court briefs in many of the major cases addressing
the use of redistricting for undue partisan gain or at the expense of minority voters.
The Center offers top-flight legal and policy expertise to advocates and officials on the national and state level seeking to develop effective redistricting bills and initiatives. We facilitate consensus on policy goals and then translate those goals into language appropriate for legislation or ballot measures. The Center reviews and analyzes text drafted by others for potential constitutional and other legal problems. Once legislation is introduced, Brennan Center attorneys accept invitations to deliver written and oral expert testimony.
Finally, the Center’s publications and public advocacy have amplified the values of redistricting reform: counting the population and redrawing the district lines in a way that is equitable, fair, and sensitive to diversity. In anticipation of the round of redistricting following the 2000 Census, the Brennan Center offered The Real Y2K Problem, an accessible analysis of the technical and legal issues facing legislators and reform advocates in redrawing the nation’s legislative and congressional districts. Our publication Beyond the Color Line? focuses on the ramifications of redistricting, and the litigation that often results, for race and representation. Brennan Center attorneys have also authored numerous law review articles, magazine pieces, and opinion pieces detailing the promises and challenges of redistricting in the public interest.
About the Authors
Justin Levitt is counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, focusing on redistricting,
election administration, and other voting rights concerns. His work has included
thorough research into the most pressing issues of election law and practice;
publication of extensive studies and reports; assistance to federal and state
administrative and legislative bodies with responsibility over elections; participation as amicus curiae in significant cases around the country; and litigation,
when necessary, as counsel for parties seeking to compel states to comply with
their obligations under federal law and the Constitution. He is the author or
co-author of articles in both law reviews and peer-reviewed publications, and
has also written many shorter commentaries for a more public audience. His
Brennan Center monographs, including The Truth About Voter Fraud (2007)
and Making the List (2006), have been cited extensively in national and local
media, and recently, by the U.S. Supreme Court. Before coming to the Brennan
Center, Mr. Levitt worked for a number of different civil rights and nonprofit
voter engagement organizations, including as in-house counsel to one of the
nation’s largest voter registration and mobilization efforts.
Ms. Foster joined the Brennan Center in July 2006 after graduating magna cum laude from the University of Rochester with a degree in political science. She works as a research associate, focusing on the Center's campaign finance reform and government accountability efforts. Prior to joining the Center, she spent a semester as an undergraduate intern in the Washington, DC office of Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and in addition, completed a summer internship at the Human Rights Campaign.