An introduction to redistricting

Written By Richard Young

Democracy does not exist without elections.

For democracy to endure, elections must not only take place, but they need to be held in an open and free manner where residents’ voices can be heard. It is an essential part of our political system.

Over the next few months, this newsletter will explore the role of redistricting in Lexington, our past redistricting practices, and how to better improve engagement and understanding concerning redistricting as a whole. 

The basics of redistricting

So… what is redistricting? Put simply, it is the way we change the districts that determine who represents us. 

Legislators in towns and counties are elected from districts, which divide places and the people who live in them into geographical territories. District lines often subdivide these territories, so any one place will contain multiple districts. This dates back to our colonial era, when districts were defined by the borders of towns or counties.

As America’s population grew, it did not grow equally across the country. Some towns and counties grew much larger, some remained relatively the same, and some declined in numbers. In the 1960s, Los Angeles County (a large district in California) had 442 times as many people as California’s smallest district.

Why does this disparity matter? Because each district in California’s state senate elected one Senator. This disparity means, each person in the smallest district enjoyed 442 times the Senate representation of each Los Angeles resident.

Starting in the mid-1960s, the Supreme Court decided that this population disparity violated the U.S. Constitution. They required roughly equal population for each legislative district, which meant the district boundaries need to be periodically redrawn and adjusted to account for population changes.

This population information comes from the Census. The U.S. census counts every resident in the United States every 10 years. This data determines the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

The first census was held in 1790 and led by Thomas Jefferson. Today, the most recent census, the 2020 census, counted a population of around 330 million people in more than 140 million housing units.

The 2020 census results are set to be released in September. Sometime after that, Lexington will redraw its Council Districts. It is our hope that with this publication and other education efforts, the public can draw its own fully legal districts that are politically fair, protect and enhance minority representation, and respect all of Lexington.

Subscribe to our newsletter and visit our brand new redistricting page to stay up to date on what is happening with local redistricting in Lexington.

Bibliography

Richard Young
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