Redistricting Reform Act

Summary#

This bill, the Redistricting Reform Act of 2025, requires most States to use a congressional redistricting plan developed and enacted by an independent State redistricting commission. If a State does not enact a plan, a 3-judge Federal court will develop and publish a plan. The bill sets priorities and rules for drawing single-member congressional districts: follow the U.S. Constitution (including nearly equal population), comply with the Voting Rights Act, protect the ability of protected groups to nominate and elect candidates of choice, and respect communities of interest. The bill bars drawing maps to favor or disfavor a political party and lists the kinds of analyses courts must use to decide whether a plan has a partisan effect.

The bill creates a detailed process to form 15-member independent commissions. A nonpartisan State legislative agency makes initial random appointments from a statewide selection pool of 36 eligible applicants (12 majority-party, 12 minority-party, 12 independent). The commission must work in public, hold multiple hearings, publish draft and final plans and data on a website, accept public maps and comments, and include written evaluations comparing plans to external metrics. The Department of Justice reviews final plans for compliance with the bill's criteria. The bill also bans most mid-decade redistricting after a State follows this Act, with a specific exemption for Iowa and an exemption for States that already use qualifying independent commissions.

The bill provides a civil enforcement structure. The Attorney General or any aggrieved State citizen may sue in Federal court. If a court finds a plan violates the Act, the court must order a replacement plan, and courts have special deadlines and expedited procedures. The bill removes legislative privilege for redistricting challenges. It authorizes the Election Assistance Commission to make payments to States equal to $150,000 per Representative to help carry out redistricting, subject to appropriations. Most provisions apply to redistricting carried out after the 2030 decennial census, with the ban on mid-decade redistricting applying starting with the 2020 census.

What it means for you#

• Citizens can apply to be in the selection pool to serve on a State independent redistricting commission if they meet eligibility rules.
• Members of the public can attend commission meetings, submit comments and draft maps, and access draft and final maps and underlying data on the commission website.
• Any citizen of a State may bring a Federal lawsuit if they believe the State failed to meet the Act's requirements, and the Department of Justice may also bring suits.
• If a State misses deadlines, Federal courts may step in to make or publish a redistricting plan.
• The bill exempts States with certain existing independent commission laws and includes a special rule for Iowa.

Expenses#

• The bill directs the Election Assistance Commission to pay each State, not later than 30 days after the State receives its apportionment notice, an amount equal to the number of Representatives the State receives multiplied by $150,000, subject to the availability of appropriations.
• No payment under this section is made to States entitled to only one Representative.
• Payments are conditioned on States meeting certain procedural certification steps (for example, submitting a selection pool), with exceptions for States with qualifying existing commissions and for Iowa.
• The bill authorizes appropriations as necessary for these payments.
• No publicly available information on the total estimated Federal cost or on State-level staffing and implementation costs beyond the payment formula in the bill.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.