Legal Definitions - redistrict

To redistrict means to redraw the geographical boundaries of electoral or administrative areas. This process typically occurs periodically, often after a census, to ensure that each district contains a roughly equal number of people, thereby maintaining fair and equitable representation.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of redistricting:

• State Congressional Districts: Following the decennial national census, a state discovers that its population has grown significantly in urban areas while rural populations have declined. To ensure that each U.S. House of Representatives district within the state represents approximately the same number of residents, the state legislature undertakes a process to redistrict. This involves redrawing the lines of the existing congressional districts, potentially creating new district shapes that reflect the updated population distribution and comply with federal voting rights laws.

• City Council Wards: A rapidly growing city has expanded into new suburban areas, leading to an imbalance in its city council wards. Some wards now have many more residents than others, meaning some citizens have less proportional representation on the council. The city council decides to redistrict, adjusting the boundaries of its wards to balance the population across all districts. This ensures that each council member represents a similar number of constituents, making the local government more representative of its entire population.

• School Attendance Zones: A large metropolitan school district experiences shifts in its student population, with some elementary schools becoming overcrowded while others have declining enrollment. To manage resources efficiently, balance class sizes, and ensure all students have access to local schools, the school board decides to redistrict. They redraw the attendance zones, which are the geographical areas determining which school a child attends, to better align with current residential patterns and student numbers.