On August 12, the once-a-decade redrawing of electoral district boundaries known as redistricting starts in earnest with the Census Bureau’s release of the detailed, block-level population and demographic data. Because this data is coming out much later than normal due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this decade’s redistricting process is expected to be a rushed one.
All told, 18 states, including Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, and Texas, have redistricting and/or election-related deadlines written into state law that will require completing redistricting this fall or early next year unless changed.
In addition, 14 other states without early deadlines nonetheless customarily complete congressional redistricting in the year ending in 1 or shortly afterwards. These states also could choose to try to redistrict in 2021 in order to adhere as much as possible to traditional election schedules. Redistricting could be complete in most of the country by the end of the year or shortly thereafter.
States with Upcoming Redistricting or Election Deadlines
The following 18 states currently will have to redistrict this fall or winter in order to meet constitutional or statutory deadlines for completing redistricting or in order to meet election-related deadlines:
Other States That Could Redistrict in 2021
Fourteen other states are not legally obligated to complete congressional redistricting in 2021 or early 2022 but could choose to do so because they customarily redistrict in the year ending in 1. However, because these states have comparatively late primaries, they also could choose to delay redistricting until 2022.
