Elections & terms
redistricting commission
A body other than the legislature that draws district maps. Some are fully independent of legislators, others are bipartisan panels or backups.
In full
Commissions are a state-level answer to legislators picking their own voters. Designs vary widely: some exclude officeholders and party officials entirely, some split seats between the parties with a tiebreaker, and some act only if the legislature deadlocks. The Supreme Court upheld voter-created independent commissions for congressional maps in 2015.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.