Gerrymandering is the practice of redrawing electoral district boundaries to create maps that advantage a political party, and mid-cycle redistricting can be used to attempt to gain additional congressional seats.
November 21, 2025
high
temporal
Describes the mechanism and potential objective of partisan redistricting efforts.
Lawsuits and court rulings have led to mid-decade redistricting in North Carolina, causing congressional maps to be redrawn more frequently than once per decade.
October 21, 2025
high
process
Explanation of factors producing redistricting outside the usual decennial cycle in a specific state.
Mid-decade redistricting is a practice in which state legislatures redraw congressional maps outside the regular post-census cycle, and it can be used as a strategy to try to gain partisan advantage.
high
process
Explains the timing and strategic purpose of redistricting conducted between decennial censuses.
States sometimes redraw their congressional district lines in response to how other states have drawn their congressional maps.
high
process
Describes a reactive practice in state-level redistricting.
U.S. federal courts can issue preliminary injunctions to block the implementation of newly drawn congressional maps while legal challenges are resolved.
high
legal
Preliminary injunctions are a procedural tool courts use to preserve the status quo during litigation over redistricting.