Redistricting Reform Act

Summary#

This bill, the Redistricting Reform Act of 2025, requires States to use a redistricting plan for U.S. House districts that is developed and enacted by an independent state redistricting commission established under the bill. If a State does not enact a plan from such a commission, a 3-judge Federal court would develop and publish the plan. The bill sets ranked criteria for drawing districts (including equal population, compliance with the Voting Rights Act, protections for groups able to elect candidates of choice, and respect for communities of interest). It bars using maps that are intended to or that have the effect of materially favoring or disfavoring a political party and lists the factors and tests courts must use to assess partisan effect.

Title II sets rules for independent commissions: 15 members drawn from a selection pool of 36 applicants in three categories (majority party, minority party, and independents), public application and vetting rules, conflict-of-interest disqualifications, public hearings, website and transparency requirements, required written evaluations of plans against external metrics, and timing rules for completing plans after the Census apportionment notice. The Department of Justice must review final plans for compliance with the bill's criteria. The bill exempts States that already have continuously effective commission laws meeting specified requirements and exempts Iowa’s existing process.

The bill bans most mid-decade redistricting after a State has been redistricted under the act, with limited court-ordered exceptions. It authorizes payments from the Election Assistance Commission to States to carry out redistricting equal to $150,000 per Representative (subject to appropriations), and it creates civil enforcement through the Attorney General and private lawsuits. The bill sets special venue and expedited procedures, requires three-judge panels for statewide claims, directs appeals to the D.C. Circuit, and limits stays pending appeal in many cases. The act mostly takes effect for redistricting carried out after the 2030 decennial census, although the ban on mid-decade redistricting (section 102) applies to redistricting carried out pursuant to the 2020 census or any succeeding decennial census.

What it means for you#

  • If you live in a State that is covered, your State's U.S. House district lines would be drawn according to a plan produced and enacted by an independent commission that follows the bill's criteria and public process requirements.
  • The commission must hold public hearings, post maps and data online, accept public maps and comments, and include written evaluations of plans against external metrics.
  • If a State fails to enact a plan, a Federal 3-judge court may develop and publish the plan. Courts must follow the same criteria and hold public hearings.
  • The Department of Justice will review final plans for compliance before they are deemed enacted.

Expenses#

  • The bill authorizes the Election Assistance Commission to pay each State an amount equal to $150,000 multiplied by the number of Representatives the State is allotted under its apportionment notice. These payments are subject to the availability of appropriations. No additional cost estimates or budgetary totals are provided in the bill text.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.