Congress has made redistricting reform in 2021 a top priority. To that end H.R.1 (S.1) was introduced in the current congress and is poised to establish major election reforms should it pass. Nested within H.R. 1 is “subtitle E”, or the “Redistricting Reform Act of 2021.” The Brennan Center for Justice explains that the purpose of the Act is to combat racial injustice and partisan influence in the redrawing of congressional districts. Regardless of one’s policy position on the Act, all can agree that the legislation is a dramatic change from the redistricting status quo. Despite this fact, not many people are even aware of what exactly is in this comprehensive redistricting reform. Here is a quick summary.
State Redistricting Commissions Required: H.R. 1 requires all states (except Iowa) with more than one congressional district to ‘redraw’ or redistrict congressional boundaries through an independent state commission formed by a nonpartisan state agency under rules and procedures outlined in the bill. The bill gives additional exceptions for states with existing independent commissions such as Arizona and California, but only if they meet – or continue to meet, certain specific requirements such as ensuring an open and public application process, disqualifying officials, candidates and others from serving on the commission, requiring multipartisan membership and various other conditions that promote non-partisan linedrawing.
Commission Selection Process: States must form 15-member state independent redistricting commissions by Oct 1st beginning in 2030 and every ten years. The first 6 members of a state commission are selected randomly from a pool of candidates cultivated by a non-partisan state agency and approved by a 4 member “Select Committee” consisting of the house and senate majority and minority leaders in the legislature. The remaining 9 members are selected by the first 6. This process is very similar to the California process for selecting commission members. In that state, however, legislative leaders do not approve/disapprove of the entire selection pool but have the opportunity to strike up to two names from the various sub-pools of candidates.
Major Provisions in the Act: While the establishment of an independent commission model is the core of H.R. 1, the bill includes various other provisions that are no less groundbreaking, the bill:
- Bans mid-decade redrawing of congressional districts;
- Establishes a public comment period and a deadline for final maps;
- Eliminates any claims of legislative privilege by an individual, state, or legislature in court proceedings;
- Designates a three-judge federal court to draw a map if the commission fails to;
- Directs the Election Assistance Commission to make a payment to states in an amount equal $150,000 congressional per seat; and
- Establishes redistricting criteria state commissions must follow including a requirement that states draw minority coalition districts and a prohibition on “partisan bias.”
Watch this explanation and discussion of the Act’s provisions sponsored by Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society
