Sponsor
Don Davis
Representative · D-NC
Representative · D-NC
Generally forbids mid‑decade congressional redistricting after post‑census maps except to cure constitutional or VRA violations or via a limited voter referendum.
Official title: To prohibit States from carrying out Congressional redistricting after a decennial census and apportionment.
Introduced October 28, 2025 by Don Davis · Last progress October 28, 2025
The bill aims to provide clearer, more predictable federal rules and the possibility of federal remedies for post‑apportionment redistricting, but does so at the cost of reduced state flexibility, potential delays in correcting unlawful maps, and increased legal and political conflict over federal intervention.
State governments and voters would get clearer federal guidance and more predictable post‑apportionment redistricting schedules, reducing frequent partisan mid‑decade map changes and lowering some litigation over congressional maps.
Voters—particularly racial and ethnic minorities—could gain faster federal remedies when state congressional maps dilute representation because the bill affirms congressional authority to act on redistricting.
State governments retain sole authority to run state and local elections and to draw state/local districts, preserving a federalism balance that limits direct federal interference in routine state election administration.
Voters—especially racial and ethnic minorities—could be stuck with unconstitutional or discriminatory maps longer if courts move slowly, delaying remedies until litigation succeeds.
State governments would have reduced flexibility to address legitimate mid‑decade problems in maps because redistricting outside court orders would require a statewide referendum, which is costly and slow and can leave known defects uncorrected.
Expanding asserted federal control over redistricting risks reducing state discretion, prompting more federal‑state disputes, and politicizing federal intervention in election administration.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits states from enacting new congressional redistricting plans after they complete post‑decennial reapportionment maps, except when a federal or state court requires a new map to remedy constitutional or Voting Rights Act violations, when a court itself draws a remedial map (with an opportunity for the state to replace it), or when the state places a statewide referendum to redraw maps for those compliance purposes. The rule applies to congressional redistricting after the 2020 census, and the referendum exception only applies to referenda ordered after November 3, 2026. The measure preserves state control over state and local election districts.