Redistricting
The neutral, legal process of redrawing voting district boundaries every decade to ensure equal representation, often exploited for partisan advantage through gerrymandering.
Redistricting is the neutral, legal process of redrawing the boundaries of voting districts, typically occurring every decade following the U.S. Census to ensure equal representation. While it is a routine administrative duty, it has become a focal point of political strategy when used to manipulate district lines for partisan advantage, a practice known as gerrymandering. Federal courts have increasingly limited their role in policing these partisan abuses, leaving states with significant power to draw maps that entrench one party's power.
What this means in real life
After the 2020 census, a state discovers its population has shifted from rural to urban areas. Officials redraw congressional district lines so cities get more districts and rural areas fewer, ensuring each district has roughly equal population.
What it isn’t
Redistricting is not the same as gerrymandering. Redistricting is the neutral, necessary process of updating boundaries; gerrymandering is the deliberate manipulation of those boundaries for partisan gain. Not all redistricting involves gerrymandering, though gerrymandering always involves redistricting.
Commonly misused online
Social media often uses 'redistricting' and 'gerrymandering' interchangeably, implying all boundary redrawing is corrupt. In reality, redistricting is a required administrative task; only partisan manipulation of it constitutes gerrymandering.