Redistricting Roundup.

• Author: Underhill, Wendy

45 Years and Counting

NCSL was instrumental in lobbying Congress in 1975 for the enactment of Public Law 94-171, which requires the U.S. Census Bureau to provide enough detail at the census block level to draw fair and accurate maps.

Ohio's Unique Process

Ohio created a hybrid model for congressional redistricting. The legislature gets first crack at drawing the map. If the chambers can't approve it with strong bipartisan support, a commission draws a new version. If the commission also fails to get bipartisan approval, lawmakers step in again, with a lower bar for bipartisanship. If that effort fails? The legislature can draw the maps with a simple majority--but must start over again just four years later.

Data Analysis

Software vendors and data consultants increasingly are helping lawmakers during and after redistricting. "Ensembles" of thousands (or millions) of computer-generated maps may be used by redistricters themselves--or by outsiders--to compare...