state legislatures

State courts can review and, in some cases, reject legislative-drawn congressional or legislative district maps for violating state redistricting standards and order remedial maps or compliance with those standards.

State legislatures and voter-approved ballot initiatives can redraw congressional district maps and thereby change the partisan allocation of U.S. House seats.

State-level redistricting of congressional district maps can be used to increase a political party's chances of winning seats in the U.S. House.

Some state legislatures require substantial appropriations to compensate legislators for convening outside a regular session, and those compensation requirements (sometimes reaching six-figure totals) can create a financial barrier to calling special sessions.

In the United States, state legislatures in some states have the authority to enact congressional redistricting maps, enabling legislative majorities to implement maps that favor a particular party.

State legislatures can convene special sessions to consider redistricting amendments ahead of upcoming elections.

State-controlled congressional redistricting can change the partisan composition of a state's U.S. House delegation by reshaping district boundaries.

More than 420 anti-science bills attacking longstanding public health protections were introduced in state legislatures across the United States in 2025.

Mid-decade redistricting is the practice of redrawing congressional district boundaries between decennial censuses, and state legislatures can use it to alter the partisan composition of U.S. House seats.

Legal challenges to congressional redistricting plans commonly allege unlawful racial gerrymandering.

State legislatures enact congressional redistricting plans and state governors can sign those redistricting maps into law.

State legislatures can carry out mid‑decade redistricting to redraw U.S. House district boundaries and seek partisan electoral advantage.

State legislatures may redraw U.S. House district maps mid-decade to try to alter partisan advantage for upcoming federal elections.

Ballot propositions or state laws can change which body has authority to draw congressional district maps, transferring that authority between independent redistricting commissions and state legislatures.

State legislatures controlled by a political party can redraw congressional district maps (redistricting) in ways that influence the partisan composition of U.S. House seats.

In some U.S. states, state legislatures, rather than direct voter referendums, enact congressional redistricting plans; Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri are commonly cited examples of states where legislatures have that authority.

State legislatures use redistricting to redraw congressional district boundaries with the intent of changing partisan representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Partisan control of state legislatures and governorships is commonly used as a mechanism to pursue redistricting strategies intended to increase a party's representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Some U.S. states use nonpartisan or independent redistricting commissions to draw congressional maps, and legislatures or ballot propositions can be used to alter or temporarily reclaim map-drawing authority from such commissions.

Legislative proposals can include provisions that condition state funding for public higher education institutions on those institutions' compliance with specified administrative directives, such as renaming roadways.

State legislatures redraw congressional district boundaries after each decennial U.S. Census to adjust for population changes.

State legislatures can conduct redistricting outside the decennial census cycle (mid-decade redistricting), allowing them to redraw congressional district maps between census years.

Redistricting controlled by a state's dominant political party can be used to design congressional maps that increase the number of districts favoring that party.

Some U.S. states use independent or nonpartisan redistricting commissions to draw congressional district maps instead of having state legislatures draw those maps.

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.

Some U.S. states use independent citizen commissions to draw congressional district maps, while other U.S. states assign map-drawing authority to their state legislatures.

Some U.S. states assign authority to draw congressional district boundaries to nonpartisan or independent redistricting commissions, while other states give that authority to the state legislature.

State legislatures are commonly responsible for drawing U.S. congressional district maps, while some states instead use independent or nonpartisan redistricting commissions to draw those maps.

State legislatures and governors can enact congressional district maps, and courts can strike down or order new maps if existing maps are found to violate legal standards (including gerrymandering restrictions).

State legislatures enact congressional district maps that establish the boundaries used to elect members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mid-decade redistricting, the practice of redrawing congressional district maps outside the regular decennial redistricting cycle, is used as a political strategy to attempt to change electoral advantages for political parties.

The U.S. Constitution assigns primary authority to state legislatures to draw congressional district maps, subject to limitations imposed by federal law and judicial review.

In the United States, state governors can veto state legislation and state legislatures can override gubernatorial vetoes.