Mid-Decade Redistricting: Where Else Could It Happen?

Mid-Decade Redistricting: Where Else Could It Happen?

By EditorAug 11, 2025
Gov. Greg Abbott put mid-decade redistricting on the agenda after Trump suggested a redraw and after a Trump-aligned DOJ letter questioned the legality of four existing districts. Texas’s special session, which convened on July 21 in part to redraw the congressional map, set off a chain reaction among states looking to counter what some say is an "unusual move," although not unprecedented. On July 30, House Republicans released a draft map that could flip the state’s delegation from 25-13 to roughly 30-8 in the GOP’s favor. Texas Democrats have fled the state to deny their Republican counterparts a quorum, and…
Redistricting, , , , , , , , , , , ,
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New York’s Complicated Redistricting Rules: NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update (July 28, 2025)

New York’s Complicated Redistricting Rules: NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update (July 28, 2025)

By EditorAug 09, 2025
This New York redistricting update is excerpted from citylandnyc.org with permission from the New York Law School. New York’s Complicated Redistricting Rules Following the national attention on the politically-driven re-redistricting taking place in Texas and the legally required remapping in Ohio, New York is often mentioned as one state where the Democrats can redraw the congressional map. Here are a few state rules and facts to consider: According to the state constitution, a redistricting map shall remain in force until the effective date of the next enacted map based upon the subsequent federal decennial census unless modified pursuant to a…
New York
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A Brief History of Mid-Decade Redistricting in Texas

A Brief History of Mid-Decade Redistricting in Texas

By EditorAug 06, 2025
A Brief History of Mid-Decade Redistricting in Texas Texas’s current mid-decade congressional redistricting effort has historical precedent. In 2003, Texas legislators undertook a similar mid-cycle redistricting that reshaped the state’s political landscape. Republicans, who had won control of both legislative chambers in the 2002 elections, launched an effort to replace the court-drawn congressional map from 2001. The legislature’s 2003 map significantly shifted the partisan composition of the Texas delegation, ultimately leading to a net gain of several Republican seats in Congress. The 2003 process drew national attention when Democratic legislators dramatically fled the state in protest, attempting to deny the…
Enacting a Redistricting Map, Texas, , ,
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U.S. Supreme Court Seeks Fresh Briefs on Louisiana Map, Weighing the Voting Rights Act Against Equal-Protection Limits

U.S. Supreme Court Seeks Fresh Briefs on Louisiana Map, Weighing the Voting Rights Act Against Equal-Protection Limits

By EditorAug 04, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an unsigned order on Aug. 1 asking for supplemental briefs in Louisiana v. Callais, a case that claims Louisiana’s new six-district congressional map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Louisiana and a coalition of Black voters who support the 2024 map must file by Aug. 27; the “non-African American” voters challenging the plan have until Sept. 17, with replies due Oct. 3. The justices already heard oral argument in March but held off any decision in the case, signaling they wanted additional input before deciding whether the second majority-Black district created last year should stand. The…
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Texas Legislature Releases its First Congressional Map in Special Session

Texas Legislature Releases its First Congressional Map in Special Session

By EditorJul 30, 2025
Republican leaders in the Texas House have unveiled a draft congressional map for the ongoing special redistricting session, explicitly aiming to deliver up to five additional GOP seats, an outcome President Trump has publicly encouraged. Gov. Greg Abbott placed redistricting on the session’s agenda after Trump’s Department of Justice warned that portions of the current map may be unconstitutional. Still, House Republicans have acknowledged that partisan advantage is a central motive of this mid-decade redraw. The draft is still subject to amendment during the special session, and it is unclear whether additional versions will emerge. The aggressive move in Texas…
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Texas Redistricting Update: July 2025

Texas Redistricting Update: July 2025

By EditorJul 29, 2025
Governor Greg Abbott convened a 30-day special legislative session on July 21, instructing lawmakers to redraw the state’s 38 U.S. House districts. The call follows a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) stating that four districts anchored in Houston and Fort Worth were "coalition districts," and may have been drawn “along strict racial lines,” (a.k.a racial gerrymanders), potentially violating the 14th Amendment. Lawmakers now have until roughly mid-August to craft new boundaries that satisfy equal-population and federal law requirements. Ongoing litigation over the 2021 mapsWhile legislators work on new boundaries, a three-judge federal panel in El Paso is…
Enacting a Redistricting Map, Redistricting Litigation, Texas, , , ,
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U.S. Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Decision on Private Voting Rights Act Lawsuits

U.S. Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Decision on Private Voting Rights Act Lawsuits

By EditorJul 26, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a significant, albeit temporary, reprieve for voting rights advocates and individual litigants, putting on hold a controversial ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit holding that private plaintiffs cannot bring claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), a ruling that could severely limit the ability of individual voters and advocacy groups to sue under the Act. This specific case originated from a challenge to North Dakota's 2021 state legislative map, which the plaintiffs, two Native American tribes and individual voters, argued diluted Native American voting power by…
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Census Bureau Releases Initial Plan for Conducting 2030 Census

Census Bureau Releases Initial Plan for Conducting 2030 Census

By EditorJul 24, 2025
Press Release JULY 23, 2025 — The U.S. Census Bureau today released the first version of the 2030 Census Operational Plan, along with an interactive tool for exploring it. This plan documents the initial, high-level design for the next census, outlining the breadth of work needed to conduct and support a quality population and housing count. Future iterations of the plan will describe the work in more detail. Read the 2030 Census Operational Plan. The plan, “Baseline 1,” provides a snapshot of big-picture activities the Census Bureau will undertake to conduct the 2030 Census: Establish where to count. Identify all the addresses where people could…
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A Maryland Democrat Proposes Countering Out-of-Cycle Partisan Redistricting

A Maryland Democrat Proposes Countering Out-of-Cycle Partisan Redistricting

By EditorJul 24, 2025
Maryland House of Delegates Majority Leader, Del. David Moon, a Montgomery County Democrat, is drafting legislation designed to counter partisan congressional redistricting efforts in other states. Moon's proposal would mandate that if any other state deviates from the norm of redrawing congressional districts only once every 10 years, Maryland would be required to do the same. This move comes as President Donald Trump is pushing states like Texas to redraw their maps outside the typical post-Census schedule, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott having called a special 30-day legislative session to consider redistricting, among other issues. Moon's "basic idea" is that…
Maryland, Partisan Gerrymandering,
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Can New York Redraw Its Congressional Districts?: NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update (July 21, 2025)

Can New York Redraw Its Congressional Districts?: NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update (July 21, 2025)

By EditorJul 22, 2025
This New York redistricting update is excerpted from citylandnyc.org with permission from the New York Law School. Can New York Redraw Its Congressional Districts? As the Texas Legislature begins to meet this week to take up a partisan effort to redraw the state’s congressional map, California Governor Gavin Newsom is exploring how his state could redraw its map to counter the power play in the Lone Star State. Governor Newsom believes that one must play hardball when confronted by the type of demands requested by the White House. The Texas Legislature has few restrictions on what it can do when redistricting. The…
New York,
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