Between Dec. 8 and Dec. 15, officials in at least six states either proposed, advanced, or enacted new redistricting maps.
Proposed
Pennsylvania: Rep. Seth Grove (R), chairman of the House State Government Committee, released a draft congressional redistricting plan on Dec. 8. The following day, Sens. Sharif Street (D) and David Argall (R), leaders of the Senate State Government Committee, released an additional draft congressional map. The state legislature is responsible for Congressional redistricting in Pennsylvania with final maps subject to a gubernatorial veto. Republicans currently control both chambers of the legislature while Democrats control the governorship.
Virginia: On Dec. 8, two special masters released proposed maps for the state’s congressional and legislative districts. Virginia Mercury’s Peter Galuszka wrote that the maps “tend to favor Democrats more than Republicans because they are concentrated around natural social centers, such as cities.”
This was the first redistricting cycle after Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2020 establishing a commission-led redistricting process. However, that commission missed its deadlines, sending authority to the Supreme Court of Virginia, which, in turn, named the two special masters—one nominated by Democrats and one by Republicans. Following public hearings, the supreme court will approve final maps on Dec. 19, 2021.
Advanced
Mississippi: The state’s Joint Legislative Committee on Redistricting approved a proposal for the state’s four congressional districts, which will be sent to the full legislature at the start of the 2022 session. In Mississippi, redistricting is carried out by the legislature. Congressional lines are approved as regular legislation and are thus subject to veto by the governor. State legislative lines are approved as a joint resolution and, therefore, are not subject to a gubernatorial veto.
New Mexico: After convening in a special session to address redistricting, the New Mexico State Legislature approved a new congressional map proposal. On Dec. 10, the Senate voted 25-15 in favor of the map followed by the House voting 44-24 on Dec. 11, sending the map to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) for final approval.
Enacted
Two states—Maryland and South Carolina—enacted new maps between Dec. 8 and Dec. 15. On Dec. 9, the Democratic-controlled Maryland General Assembly voted to override Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) veto of the state’s congressional district map, putting it into effect. South Carolina enacted new state legislative district lines on Dec. 10.
As of Dec. 15, 19 states have enacted congressional district maps and 23 have enacted legislative district lines.
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