Arlyss Herzig

Voters in Virginia on Tuesday approved a state constitutional amendment to enact new congressional maps that favor Democratic candidates in the 2026 midterms. The result has led to a predictably wide array of reactions, ranging from total despair and recriminations from Republicans who had cheered when Texas started this unprecedented mid-decade redistricting spree to jubilation from Democrats seeking to strike back.

Prison gerrymandering — the practice of counting incarcerated people at their detention facilities rather than their homes during redistricting — distorts political representation, inflating the clout of active voters living in districts with prisons at the expense of the communities from which incarcerated people come.

Redistricting is the process, every ten years, in which states redraw their congressional and legislative district maps. This process occurs nationwide, ostensibly to better reflect the most recent U.S. Census results. Historically, state legislatures were responsible for revising district maps, and many still are. Since the 1960s, however, an increasing number of district maps are drawn either by courts or by commissions, which can be appointed by or independent from the legislature.