Redistricting Commission

A redistricting commission is an institutional body charged with redrawing the geographic boundaries of legislative or congressional districts, typically following a decennial census or other population count. Commissions are usually established to reduce the partisan gerrymandering risks that arise when legislators draw their own districts.

Commissions vary widely in design:

• Independent commissions exclude sitting legislators and elected officials from membership. California's Citizens Redistricting Commission, created by Proposition 11 (2008) and expanded to congressional districts by Proposition 20 (2010), is a prominent U.S. example, with 14 members (5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, 4 unaffiliated) selected through a screening process administered by the State Auditor.
• Bipartisan or politician commissions include legislators or political appointees balanced between major parties. New Jersey and Hawaii use variants of this model.
• Advisory commissions propose maps that the legislature may accept, amend, or reject.
• Backup commissions activate only if the legislature fails to enact a map.

Outside the United States, similar bodies operate under different names. The United Kingdom uses four Boundary Commissions (for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), established in their modern form by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 and now governed largely by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 as amended. Canada uses independent Electoral Boundaries Commissions in each province under the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act of 1964. Australia relies on the Australian Electoral Commission's Redistribution Committees.

Common criteria commissions weigh include equal population, contiguity, compactness, preservation of political subdivisions, preservation of communities of interest, and compliance with minority voting rights protections (in the U.S., Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965). Critics note that even ostensibly independent commissions can produce contested maps, as seen in litigation following the 2020 census cycle in states including Virginia, New York, and Michigan.