Sponsor
Stephen Cohen
Representative · D-TN
Representative · D-TN
The bill centralizes and standardizes congressional redistricting — using independent commissions, federal deadlines, and clearer federal triggers to reduce partisan gerrymandering and increase predictability — in exchange for reduced state flexibility, upfront administrative costs, potential rushed timelines, and delayed application until after the 2030 reapportionment.
All voters (especially communities harmed by partisan maps) will see congressional redistricting handled by independent, bipartisan commissions, reducing partisan gerrymandering and likely producing fairer districts.
State officials and election administrators get a single, clearer federal rule and definition for post-2030 congressional maps and apportionment triggers, increasing predictability for drawing maps after the 2030 reapportionment.
States (particularly multi-seat states) receive federal grants and predictable federal funding to help stand up and run independent redistricting commissions, reducing the need to divert state budgets to meet tight timelines.
State governments and voters will face a significant shift of redistricting authority toward federal rules, commissions, and courts, reducing state legislative control over congressional mapmaking.
Voters and communities will not get the Act's protections or changes until after the 2030 reapportionment, leaving current congressional maps (and any harms from them) unchanged in the near term.
Tight federal deadlines, restrictions on mid-decade redistricting, and court-driven timelines risk rushed plans with limited public input and higher litigation risk, potentially producing lower-quality maps and more lawsuits.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Requires independent state redistricting commissions for U.S. House maps after the 2030 census, sets commission rules, deadlines, court backstops, and pays States $150,000 per Representative to implement them.
Official title: To prohibit States from carrying out more than one Congressional redistricting after a decennial census and apportionment, to require States to conduct such redistricting through independent commissions, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 17, 2025 by Stephen Cohen · Last progress September 17, 2025
Requires States to use independent redistricting commissions to draw U.S. House district maps after the 2030 decennial census, sets detailed rules for commission composition, member eligibility, transparency, timing, and judicial backstops, and funds commission setup through per-seat payments from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. It also bars States from conducting additional post‑apportionment redistricting except to remedy court-ordered constitutional or Voting Rights Act violations, and preserves State authority over state and local districting.