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Prof. Justin Levitt's Doug Spencer's Guide to Drawing the Electoral Lines

Criteria for 2010 state legislative districts

2020 Congress        2020 State Legislature

2010 Congress         2010 State Legislature

The table below shows the different critera that redistricting bodies in the 2010 redistricting cycle considered when they drew state legislative lines, and the state law sources for those criteria.

In most states, these standards had to be followed only as closely “as is practicable,” leaving substantial flexibility to the redistricting body — but in some states, state law is more specific or more constraining.  The links lead to the specific legal provisions, and more information is available in the writeup for each state — just click on the state’s name.

In every state, these standards are always subordinate to federal equal population limits and to the federal Voting Rights Act.

A blank space indicates that the state did not have a particular legal provision on the issue in question, at least as far as I am aware.
 

State law on
equal pop.
State law on
race/ethnicity
Contiguity Compactness Political
boundaries
Communities
of interest
Electoral
outcomes
Nested
districts
Alabama Constitution Guidelines Constitution Guidelines Constitution Guidelines Guidelines
Alaska Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Arizona Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Arkansas Constitution Constitution Constitution
California Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Colorado Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Connecticut Constitution Constitution
Delaware Statute Statute Statute
Florida Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Georgia Constitution Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines
Hawaii Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Idaho Constitution Statute Constitution Statute Statute
Illinois Constitution Constitution
Indiana Constitution
Iowa Constitution Statute Constitution Constitution Statute Statute Statute
Kansas Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines
Kentucky Constitution Constitution Constitution
Louisiana Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines
Maine Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Statute
Maryland Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Massachusetts Constitution Constitution Constitution
Michigan Statute Statute Statute Statute
Minnesota Constitution Constitution Statute Constitution
Mississippi Constitution Statute Statute
Missouri Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Montana Constitution Constitution Constitution Guidelines Guidelines Constitution
Nebraska Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Guidelines
Nevada
New Hampshire Constitution Constitution Constitution
New Jersey Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
New Mexico Guidelines Guidelines Statute Statute Guidelines Guidelines
New York Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
North Carolina Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
North Dakota Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Ohio Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Oklahoma Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Oregon Statute Statute Constitution Constitution Statute Statute Constitution
Pennsylvania Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Rhode Island Constitution Statute Constitution Statute Statute Statute
South Carolina Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines
South Dakota Constitution Constitution Constitution Statute Statute Constitution
Tennessee Statute Constitution
Texas Constitution Constitution Constitution
Utah Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines
Vermont Statute Constitution Constitution Constitution Statute
Virginia Guidelines Constitution Constitution Guidelines
Washington Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Statute Constitution Statute
West Virginia Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution Statute
Wisconsin Constitution Constitution Constitution Constitution
Wyoming Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines Guidelines