Every ten years, after the census, someone has to redraw the political maps. Who holds the pen during that quiet exercise can decide elections for the next decade before a single vote is cast.
Redistricting is the process of redrawing the boundaries of electoral districts, normally done every ten years after the census to reflect population changes. People move, populations shift, and the lines must be redrawn so districts stay roughly equal.
It is required, in part, by the one person, one vote principle. Because districts must contain roughly equal populations, growth in cities and decline in rural areas forces the maps to be redrawn or they become unconstitutionally lopsided.
But redistricting is where the gerrymander lives. Whoever controls the process, often the party in power in the state legislature, can draw the lines to entrench their own advantage, packing opponents into a few districts and spreading their own voters efficiently across many.
Reformers have fought to take the pen out of partisan hands. Some states now use independent redistricting commissions to draw maps, trying to separate the people who draw the districts from the people who benefit from them.
