Sponsors (61)
Official title: To require congressional redistricting conducted by a State to be conducted in accordance with a redistricting plan developed and enacted into law by an independent redistricting commission established by the State, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 18, 2025 by Zoe Lofgren · Last progress September 18, 2025
The bill aims to reduce partisan gerrymandering and increase transparency and minority protections by creating federally guided independent commission processes and enforcement tools, but it does so by imposing new costs, deadlines, eligibility rules, and federal oversight that limit state flexibility and may increase litigation and administrative burdens.
Voters (including racial and ethnic minorities) will likely get fairer congressional maps because independent commissions, randomized selection pools, and limits on partisan stacking make maps less likely to be drawn to favor one party.
Members of the public and taxpayers gain greater transparency and participation because commissions must hold public meetings, livestream hearings, post materials, accept public map submissions, and disclose relevant information about mapmaking.
Protected racial, ethnic, and language minorities gain stronger Voting Rights Act protections and meaningful opportunity to participate in appointments and commission composition, improving chances to elect preferred candidates.
State governments and taxpayers may face higher costs because creating and running independent commissions, maintaining public interfaces, hiring staff/experts, and complying with disclosure and reporting requirements will increase administrative spending, and federal funding is open‑ended.
States and state legislatures lose some control over redistricting because the bill shifts authority toward federally mandated procedures and allows federal courts to impose plans when deadlines are missed, reducing state flexibility in drawing maps.
There is a likely increase in litigation and federal court workload (and associated costs) because new presumptions, expanded federal jurisdiction, removal of state claims, and expedited timelines invite more challenges and appeals.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Requires independent, multi‑partisan state redistricting commissions (or federal court plans), sets selection/vetting rules, public process requirements, deadlines, enforcement, and conditional EAC payments.
Requires every State to adopt congressional district maps using an independent, multi‑partisan redistricting commission that follows detailed vetting, selection, transparency, diversity, and map‑drawing rules; if a State fails to enact a compliant plan on a tight timetable, a three‑judge federal court must develop and publish the plan. The bill also creates procedures for nonpartisan selection agencies, public hearings and comment, deadlines tied to the apportionment notice, enforcement tools (private and DOJ suits), and one-time EAC payments to States tied to compliance with selection‑pool requirements.