What is redistricting?
Last month, Virginia voters approved an effort to redraw the state's congressional map in an attempt to help Democrats flip multiple Republican-held districts—a move that was struck down a few weeks later by the Virginia Supreme Court. This was a high-profile salvo in an ongoing partisan battle between Democrats and Republicans, in which at least 17 states have attempted to weaken their opponents' political power over the last two years.
These events reflect a broader national debate over voting rights, representation, how much power elected officials should have in shaping the electorate that determines their own elections, and what U.S. law actually says about it.
What is Redistricting?
Redistricting is the process of redrawing electoral district boundaries for Congress and state legislatures. Traditionally, redistricting occurs every 10 years following the U.S. Census, which counts the population and determines how the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are distributed among the states. Each state then redraws district lines to reflect population changes and ensure that each district represents a roughly equal number of people.
Today, each congressional district contains roughly 760,000 people on average. That number has grown dramatically over time because the size of the House of Representatives has been capped at 435 members since 1929, even as the U.S. population has more than tripled. At the nation’s founding, a typical congressional district represented only about 35,000 people. Before the cap was imposed, Congress periodically expanded the House to keep representatives closer to their constituents and preserve its role as "the People's House."
The Constitution gives Congress the authority to set rules for federal elections and places primary responsibility for redistricting on the states, but it provides little specific guidance on how maps should be drawn. In practice, this means that in most states, elected officials themselves control the redistricting process—a system that has made map-drawing a persistent source of political conflict. Most other democracies assign this responsibility to independent, nonpartisan commissions to avoid those conflicts of interest.
But redistricting does not always wait for the next census. States can be required to redraw maps mid-decade if courts rule existing district lines unconstitutional or in violation of federal law. Some states may also voluntarily redraw maps between census cycles if state law permits it, a practice known as "mid-decade redistricting."
While once relatively rare, mid-decade redistricting has become increasingly common as both parties use their control of state governments to redraw maps that strengthen their electoral advantage, turning redistricting into one of the most consequential—and controversial—battlefronts in American democracy.
What is Gerrymandering?
Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating electoral district boundaries during redistricting to favor a specific political party, incumbent, or group. This can happen by dividing communities across multiple districts to weaken their voting power—a tactic known as "cracking"—or by concentrating certain voters into a small number of districts to limit their influence elsewhere, a practice known as "packing."
The United States also has a long history of racial gerrymandering, in which maps are drawn to increase or decrease the political influence of certain racial groups. For decades, federal courts have wrestled with where the line exists between lawful redistricting and unconstitutional discrimination, particularly under the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA).
However, in 2019, the Supreme Court ruled in Rucho v. Common Cause that partisan gerrymandering claims are generally beyond the reach of federal courts, while acknowledging that excessive partisan gerrymandering may be "incompatible with democratic principles."
Why are we talking about this now?
Redistricting and racial gerrymandering came into sharp focus at the end of April, when the Supreme Court, in its ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, narrowed states' ability to use race as a determining factor in creating election districts. The decision focused on Section 2 of the VRA, a landmark achievement of the Civil Rights Movement that prohibits voter discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in language minority groups.
At the same time, both parties are increasingly using redistricting to strengthen their political position ahead of the 2026 elections. Yet efforts to pursue mid-decade redistricting have not been universally embraced. In South Carolina, Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey argued that repeatedly redrawing maps for partisan advantage could undermine core democratic norms, and the legislature adjourned without taking up a new congressional map despite national pressure to do so.
These fights have elevated redistricting from a once-obscure procedural issue into a major national debate over political power, voting rights, representation, and the rules that govern American democracy.
Why does this matter for democracy?
Representative democracy depends on voters choosing their elected officials—not elected officials choosing their voters.
When district boundaries are manipulated to predetermine electoral outcomes, the relationship between voters and their representatives weakens. Gerrymandering can reduce accountability, distort representation, and make elections less competitive. In districts where one party is virtually guaranteed victory, elected officials may face greater pressure from their partisan base than from the broader electorate, creating incentives to appeal to more ideologically committed voters and potentially contributing to political polarization. It can also leave communities feeling that their voices no longer matter.
A fair democratic system depends on districts that reflect communities as they actually exist and ensure that all voters have an equal voice in choosing their representatives.
Why does this matter for Jewish communities?
As a community, we support fair maps that ensure every voter has an equal voice, regardless of religion, race, background, or political affiliation.
Healthy democracies depend on both majority rule and the protection of minority rights. Gerrymandering can undermine both principles by distorting electoral outcomes and diminishing the political influence of minority communities.
By distorting voting power, gerrymandering can contribute to forms of political exclusion that Jews and other minority communities have historically faced. Fair representation, political equality, and accountable government are democratic principles that have long helped protect minority communities, including the Jewish community.
What can be done?
Learn → Educate yourself on how redistricting works in your state and follow organizations tracking gerrymandering nationwide, such as the Brennan Center for Justice and the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.
Speak → Talk to friends, family, and community members about how gerrymandering distorts representation and undermines democracy, and encourage them to pay attention to redistricting in your state.
Act → Contact your members of Congress and state legislators to urge them to support independent redistricting commissions. Vote in state and local elections, where many of these decisions are made.
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