Redistricting 101

Voters should pick their politicians, not the other way around, right?

Right!
What do you mean?!

Sometimes, the politicians responsible for updating district maps, draw unfair maps that dilute the voice of specific groups of people while amplifying the political power of others.

Every 10 years, congressional district maps are redrawn based on the new census data on the population. This process, known as redistricting , is taking place across the country right now.

In many cases, politicians will use gerrymandering tactics to draw district maps to their political advantage.

Is this “fair representation”?

In 2018, Republicans won 3x more House seats than Democrats in Ohio despite the relatively close popular vote.

Popular Votes and House Seats:
Party Number of Votes Number of House Seats Percentage of Votes Percentage of House Seats
Republican 2,291,333 12 53% 75%
Democratic 2,082,684 4 47% 25%

Popular Votes

Repulicans received 2,291,333 total votes, or 53 percent of the popular vote. Democrats received 2,082,684 total votes, or 47 percent of the popular vote.

House Seats

Repulicans won 12 house seats, or 75 percent of Ohio's house seats. Democrats won 4 house seats, or 25 percent of Ohio's house seats.

Let’s see what gerrymandering looks like.

Scroll to see how the ACLU challenged the fairness of district lines in Ohio.

Partisan gerrymandering like Ohio’s contradicts the core principle of a representative democracy — that voters should choose their elected officials, and not the other way around.

And both parties are guilty. The ACLU has challenged both Republican and Democratic gerrymandering.

Ohio a. Philip Randolph Institute v. Smith.

Ohio silhouette

2018

Successfully challenged

Republican gerrymandering

Successfully challenged

Republican gerrymandering

Benisek v.
Lamone

Maryland silhouette

2018

Successfully challenged

Democratic gerrymandering

Successfully challenged

Democratic gerrymandering

How about this? Is this “fair representation”?

In 2016, plaintiffs in Texas proposed that district populations should be counted based on registered voters despite the fact that nearly half of Hispanic and Latinx populations in Texas were not even eligible to vote (above 18 and citizens) and many more were not registered.

Hispanic and Latinx vs. White Eligible Voters
Population Registered and Eligible to Vote Not Eligible to Vote
Hispanic or Latinx 49% 51%
White 90% 10%

Hispanic and Latinx vs. White
Eligible Voters in Texas in 2016

About 49 percent of the hispanic and latinx population in Texas are registered and eligible to vote. About 90 percent of the white population in Texas is registered and eligible to vote. About 49 percent of the hispanic and latinx population in Texas are registered and eligible to vote. About 90 percent of the white population in Texas is registered and eligible to vote.

The constitution protects “one person, one vote.”

Drawing maps based on “registered voters” may sound fair, but consider which groups are more likely to be unregistered: young people, people in poverty, and communities of color.

Evenwel v.
Abbot

Texas silhouette

2018

Successfully challenged

the proposal to draw maps that dilute the Latinx vote

Successfully challenged

the proposal to draw maps that dilute the Latinx vote

The ACLU has also challenged prison gerrymandering, the practice of counting incarcerated people as residents of the prison district rather than their home districts.

The U.S. has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, and prison gerrymandering compounds the systemic inequalities that Black and Brown people already face.

Davidson v.
City of Cranston

Rhode Island silhouette

2016

Successfully challenged

prison gerrymandering

Successfully challenged

prison gerrymandering

Calvin et al v.
Jefferson County

Florida silhouette

2016

Successfully challenged

prison gerrymandering

Successfully challenged

prison gerrymandering

Every attempt to undermine the people’s ability to choose their representatives is a threat to our civil liberties.

Just Filed:
We're Suing Louisiana

Learn more
Just Filed: We're suing Louisiana

And when civil liberties are under attack, we go to court.

We’re fighting for fair maps and suing to protect your rights to fair representation in our government. Every dollar makes a difference in sustaining our work.

We can’t do any of this without you.

Donations to the ACLU are not tax-deductible.

We’re fighting for fair maps and suing to protect your rights to fair representation in our government. Every dollar makes a difference in sustaining our work.

We can’t do any of this without you.