In most states, the legislature is responsible for drawing the boundaries of all electoral districts. This allows the party in control of the state house the ability to draw those districts in its favor. To reduce such partisan gerrymandering and “achieve equality of voice and representation,” the Our Common Purpose report recommends enactment of state legislation to establish and maintain independent citizen-redistricting commissions in all 50 states.
Brief History
Independent citizen-redistricting commissions are entities, apart from state legislatures, made up of citizens who are responsible for drawing districts used in congressional and state legislative elections. Effective commissions provide increased transparency, including public hearings, soliciting voters to submit suggestions, and making the data used to draw district maps available to the public.
In response to the rise of partisan gerrymandering, several states have chosen to turn over the job of redistricting to independent commissions. Arizona was one of the first states to do so; its independent redistricting commission was created by voters in 2000. The move met resistance in the courts, but in 2015, in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that independent redistricting commissions are constitutional.
To date, 7 states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, and Washington State – have created independent citizen commissions that are responsible for drawing boundaries of electoral districts in a way that does not give any one political party an unfair advantage.
Some counties within these states have also worked to establish their own independent redistricting processes. For example, California Senate Bill 977 was enacted in September 2024 to establish an independent citizen redistricting commission for San Luis Obispo County. California passed legislation in 2023 that would have required such commissions for all counties and cities with populations over 300,000, but the governor vetoed it because of budget concerns.
More Recent Developments
Recent attempts to expand the roster of states with independent commissions have met with mixed success. In Wisconsin, the General Assembly passed a redistricting reform plan in 2023 that would transfer map-drawing authority to nonpartisan staff, but the Governor vetoed the bill.
During the November 2024 elections, Ohio voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment (Issue 1) that would have established a citizen-led redistricting commission to replace an existing system that repeatedly produced unconstitutional maps. The ballot question, which was proposed by Citizens Not Politicians, a bi-partisan coalition, would have replaced the Ohio Redistricting Commission, made up of the governor, auditor, secretary of state and the four legislative leaders, with an independent body made up of citizens diversified by party affiliation and geography. The defeat was partly related to confusing language —the ballot question stated that the new commission would be required to gerrymander district boundaries, whereas the constitutional amendment itself indicated the opposite.
Despite these setbacks, the effort to establish independent redistricting commissions and reduce partisan gerrymandering is far from over.
In Utah, the State Supreme Court in July 2024 rejected an attempt by the state legislature to repeal an anti-gerrymandering rule approved by the state’s voters in 2018. The court held that the state legislature cannot amend voter-approved redistricting reforms without showing a compelling government interest.
In 2025, there is legislative activity on this issue in at least two states, including in Texas (HB 5316) and in West Virginia (HB 2089).
The Academy will continue to monitor state legislative and regulatory activities concerning this important issue.