Significant Mapping Developments
California
California’s redistricting commission certified their congressional and legislative maps as final.
Michigan
Michigan’s redistricting commission adopted final congressional and legislative plans.
Missouri
Missouri’s House redistricting commission submitted two tentative final state House plans to the Secretary of State, but the Senate commission failed to submit a tentative plan by its deadline.
Virginia
Virginia Supreme Court adopted the special masters’ second proposed congressional and legislative maps as final.
Important Dates
This Week
New York – 1/1/22 Deadline: Commission’s 1st attempt to adopt congressional and legislative plans.
Next Week
Hawaii – 1/8/22: Commission’s proposed congressional and legislative plans.
Maryland – 1/10/22 Deadline: Governor’s deadline to introduce legislative plans to the General Assembly.
National News
Redistricting News
As stakeholders study the impact of states’ new congressional redistricting maps, some observers are debating whether Democrats’ have been effective in their state legislative redistricting efforts.
State News
Arizona
Arizona’s new congressional map includes three competitive seats that observers believe could help shift the state’s delegation towards Republicans.
Arkansas
A coalition of nonprofit and community organizations filed a ballot initiative petition seeking to create a Citizens’ Redistricting Commission to redraw congressional and legislative districts, including the congressional plan passed earlier this year.
California
California’s redistricting commission defended their final maps amidst criticisms of its process. The commission’s final congressional map has also been criticized as favoring Democrats.
Connecticut
After Connecticut’s backup commission failed to adopt a congressional plan by its court-ordered deadline, the Connecticut Supreme Court appointed Nathaniel Persily to serve as the court’s special master to aid in the creation of a congressional plan.
Maryland
Two lawsuits were filed in Maryland state court challenging the state’s congressional plan as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander under the Maryland Constitution.
Michigan
Lawyers for Michigan’s redistricting commission advised commissioners that they could make changes to proposed draft maps without restarting the mandatory 45-day public comment period. Governor Whitmer signed into law a bill clarifying that the state’s redistricting commission is not subject to exemptions for closed-door sessions in Michigan’s Open Meetings Act.
New Jersey
Republican members of New Jersey’s Congressional Redistricting Commission issued a statement denouncing the Commission’s final congressional plan and decisions made by the tie-breaking commissioner as biased towards Democrats.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State issued a letter warning that the Legislative Reapportionment Commission’s current legislative redistricting schedule would not work with the state’s primary deadlines, stating her agency needs new maps by January 24. Governor Wolf criticized the House Republicans’ proposed congressional map as a partisan gerrymander.
South Carolina
Plaintiffs challenging South Carolina’s redistricting process timeline filed an amended complaint challenging the state’s enacted state House plan as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.