Partisan balance of redistricting committees in 2011
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redistricting procedures |
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2020 |
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In those states in which state legislatures are primarily responsible for redistricting, a total of 573 legislators had been appointed to redistricting committees as of May 2011. Of that total, 251 (43.80 percent) were Democrats and 315 (56.20 percent) were Republicans.[1]
Of the 50 states conducting redistricting in 2011, 23 were counted for this study based on the following factors:
- The legislature has primary authority over redistricting.
- Committee members are appointed.
States were not included if the following criteria were met:
- Redistricting is completed by a bipartisan or non-legislative commission.
- The committee charged with redistricting had not yet been appointed as of May 2011.
How states delegate redistricting authority
In each of the 50 states, redistricting is accomplished by a variety of different processes. The majority of states simply conduct redistricting within the state legislature, using ordinary legislation. For this task, the legislature creates committees to draft or review redistricting proposals. Some states, such as California, employ an independent commission to draw new maps. Some of these commissions are partisan, while other's are bipartisan by law.
Most and least partisan states
On average, most committees closely represent the partisan composition of their respective chambers. However, several states are either especially favorable to the majority party or especially fair to the minority party.
Most partisan
- Mississippi House Committee: Although Democrats held just under 56 percent of the seats in the Mississippi House of Representatives, they held almost 90 percent of the seats on the redistricting committee. This was the largest pro-majority disparity in the states counted.
- Alabama Senate Committee: In the Alabama State Senate, Republicans held just over 60 percent of the seats. However, on the senate redistricting committee, the GOP held a majority of over 80 percent.
Least partisan
- Oklahoma House Committee: Although Republicans held almost 70 percent of the seats in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, they only held 56 percent of the seats on the redistricting committee. This was the largest pro-minority disparity in the states studied.
- Utah Senate Committee: In the Utah State Senate, Republicans held just over 75 percent of the seats. However, on the senate redistricting committee they held less than 67 percent of the seats.
Detailed data
Partisan breakdown of redistricting committees
The following chart displays the partisan composition of committees that were charged with redistricting after the 2010 census.
| Redistricting committees after the 2010 census | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | House | Total | |||||||
| State | Democrats | Republicans | Democrats | Republicans | Independents | Democrats | Republicans | ||
| Alabama | 2 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 16 | |||
| Arkansas | 4 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 12 | |||
| Florida | 8 | 15 | 6 | 15 | 14 | 30 | |||
| Georgia | 4 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 26 | |||
| Illinois | 10 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 16 | 11 | |||
| Indiana | 3 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 14 | |||
| Kentucky | 3 | 8 | 22 | 13 | 25 | 21 | |||
| Louisiana | 4 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 11 | 17 | ||
| Massachusetts* | 6 | 1 | 17 | 4 | 23 | 5 | |||
| Michigan | 3 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 12 | |||
| Minnesota** | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 12 | |||
| Mississippi | 4 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 7 | |||
| Nevada | 3 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 8 | |||
| New Mexico* | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 7 | |||
| North Carolina | 4 | 10 | 19 | 23 | 1 | 23 | 33 | ||
| Oklahoma | 3 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 14 | |||
| Oregon | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | |||
| South Carolina*** | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | |||
| South Dakota | 1 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 12 | |||
| Texas | 6 | 8 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 20 | |||
| Utah | 2 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 14 | |||
| Virginia** | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | |||
| Wyoming | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 11 | |||
| Total | 91 | 141 | 160 | 181 | 2 | 251 | 322 | ||
| Notes: * Massachusetts and New Mexico employ a joint legislative committee. In this table, members are counted by their respective chambers. ** Minnesota and Virginia also have joint committees, but both are bipartisan and of equal representation. *** South Carolina's redistricting committees are both subcommittees of the Judiciary Committee in their respective chambers. | |||||||||
Proportionality of committee representation
The following chart shows the proportion of majority committee members in relation to the partisan composition of the legislature. In general, minority members are well represented on committees, with only small deviation from equitable representation. However, several states have significantly more partisan commissions. The fact that these more heavily-weighted committees occur on both sides of the aisle is reflected by the small average deviation.
| State | House majority | % majority | % on committee | Difference | Senate majority | % majority | % on committee | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama |  Republican |
61.90% | 63.64% | 1.73% | Republican |
62.86% | 81.82% | 18.96% |
| Arkansas |  Democratic |
54.00% | 60.00% | 6.00% | Democratic |
57.14% | 50.00% | -7.14% |
| Florida | Republican |
66.67% | 71.43% | 4.76% | Republican |
70.00% | 65.22% | -4.78% |
| Georgia | Republican |
64.44% | 63.64% | -0.81% | Republican |
64.29% | 75.00% | 10.71% |
| Illinois | Democratic |
54.24% | 54.55% | 0.31% | Democratic |
59.32% | 62.50% | 3.18% |
| Indiana | Republican |
60.00% | 58.33% | -1.67% | Republican |
74.00% | 70.00% | -4.00% |
| Kentucky | Democratic |
59.00% | 62.86% | 3.86% | Republican |
57.89% | 72.73% | 14.83% |
| Louisiana | Republican |
52.38% | 61.11% | 8.73% | Republican |
56.41% | 60.00% | 3.59% |
| Massachusetts* | Democratic |
80.00% | 80.95% | 0.95% | Democratic |
90.00% | 85.71% | -4.29% |
| Michigan | Republican |
57.27% | 66.67% | 9.39% | Republican |
68.42% | 66.67% | -1.75% |
| Minnesota | Republican |
53.73% | 58.33% | 4.60% | Republican |
55.22% | 62.50% | 7.28% |
| Mississippi | Democratic |
56.56% | 88.89% | 32.33% | Republican |
51.92% | 60.00% | 8.08% |
| Nevada | Democratic |
61.90% | 60.00% | -1.90% | Democratic |
52.38% | 60.00% | 7.62% |
| New Mexico* | Democratic |
51.43% | 55.56% | 4.13% | Democratic |
64.29% | 66.67% | 2.38% |
| North Carolina | Republican |
55.83% | 54.76% | -1.07% | Republican |
62.00% | 71.43% | 9.43% |
| Oklahoma | Republican |
69.31% | 55.56% | -13.75% | Republican |
66.67% | 75.00% | 8.33% |
| Oregon | Tie | Tie | Tie | Tie | Democratic |
53.33% | 50.00% | -3.33% |
| South Carolina | Republican |
61.29% | 60.00% | -1.29% | Republican |
58.70% | 57.14% | -1.55% |
| South Dakota | Republican |
71.43% | 75.00% | 3.57% | Republican |
85.71% | 85.71% | 0.00% |
| Texas | Republican |
67.33% | 70.59% | 3.25% | Republican |
61.29% | 57.14% | -4.15% |
| Utah | Republican |
77.33% | 71.43% | -0.41% | Republican |
75.86% | 66.67% | -9.20% |
| Virginia | Republican |
59.00% | 66.67% | 7.67% | Democratic |
55.00% | 62.50% | 7.50% |
| Wyoming | Republican |
83.33% | 77.78% | -5.56% | Republican |
86.67% | 80.00% | -6.67% |
| ZZZZTotal | - | 62.65% | 65.35% | 2.95% | - | 64.76% | 67.15% | 2.39% |
| Notes: * Massachusetts and New Mexico employ a joint legislative committee. In this table, members are counted by their respective chamber. | ||||||||
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ The information on this page is based on research conducted by Ballotpedia staff in May 2011.
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