Policy Backgrounders

Gerrymandering Update: Focus on the Courts

May 16, 2022

In April 2021, the Census Bureau released its reapportionment data, showing which states would gain or lose Members in the House of Representatives for the next ten years. This was soon followed in August with the release of the Census Bureau’s redistricting data, which states began using to kick off their redistricting efforts ahead of this year’s midterm elections. This year has seen active legislative sessions, with a number of states reapportioning boundaries for both state and federal elections.

Partisan gerrymandering, the drawing of districts to favor one party, is once again, unfortunately, in full swing. Redistricting efforts have been exacerbated by a closely divided Congress, and new technologies available to mapmakers have made it easier to predict constituent voting patterns and expedite the redrawing to favor one party over another.