Oregon’s post-2020 congressional redistricting occurred in a September 2021 special session after the state gained a sixth U.S. House seat. State statute (ORS 188.010) requires maps to be drawn adhering to criteria including equal population, contiguity, respect for boundaries and communities of interest, and no favoritism for a party, incumbent, or person. The legislature enacted the new congressional map by bill (SB881), and the governor signed both the congressional and state legislative maps on Sept. 27, 2021.  One lawsuit was filed (Clarno v. Fagan) alleging that the map was a partisan gerrymander in violation of the state constitution. A special Judicial Panel dismissed the case with prejudice in November 2021 after finding that the map was the result of a “deliberative process and careful application of neutral criteria.”

State legislative redistricting followed the same statutory criteria but with a constitutional fallback. Under Article IV, §6, the legislature has initial responsibility to draw 60 House and 30 Senate districts; if it misses the deadline, the secretary of state must adopt a plan. The Oregon Supreme Court adjusted those deadlines due to delayed census data, and lawmakers passed maps in September 2021. As required, objections to the maps were filed directly in the Oregon Supreme Court. The court received two filings (Calderwood v. Oregon Legislative Assembly and Sheehan v. Oregon Legislative Assembly), both of which cited partisan gerrymandering and other violations of statutory principles. The court rejected those challenges and left the plans in place for 2022.