The 2021 redistricting cycle has begun in earnest.
The nation’s exhaustive and often divisive task of reshaping political lines officially began this week. On Monday, the Texas legislature formally convened its special session to redraw maps in a state where 44 percent of its 4 million residents live in five counties. The map-drawing phase of redistricting also is underway in Colorado, Ohio, and Nebraska.
Georgia has yet to start. The state’s 14 Congressional districts remain the same but Georgia, along with other southern states, no longer faces federal oversight when it comes to redrawing its districts or running its elections. Some worry that could lead to gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is a tactic used to create an unfair political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating the boundaries of electoral districts.
