On September 18, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18) introduced the Redistricting Reform Act of 2025 (S. 2855, H.R. 5449), legislation that would ban mid-decade redistricting of Congressional districts unless ordered by a court, and require every state to conduct its redistricting via independent commissions.
The bills would “apply with respect to redistricting carried out pursuant to the decennial census conducted during 2030 or any succeeding decennial census.”
Every state would be required by the Act to establish independent redistricting commissions and only such commissions could conduct redistricting.
Any state redistricted as required/allowed by the Act (with a special carveout for Iowa) would be prohibited from being “redistricted again until after the next apportionment of Representatives,” unless “a court requires the State to conduct such subsequent redistricting” for Constitutional or Voting Rights Act compliance.
These requirements would apply to any “redistricting carried out pursuant to the decennial census conducted during 2020 or any succeeding decennial census.”
States would need to “enact a final congressional redistricting plan following transmission of a notice of apportionment to the President by the earliest of— (1) the deadline set forth in State law; (2) February 15 of the year in which regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office are held in the State; or (3) 90 days before the date of the next regularly scheduled primary election for Federal office held in the State.”
If a state misses or appears likely to miss the deadlines, citizens of such state could file suit asking a court to take over.
The Election Assistance Commission would fund states to establish their commissions and implement redistricting.
Nothing in the Act could be construed to “affect the manner in which a State carries out elections for State or local office, including the process by which a State establishes the districts used in such elections.”
S. 2885 has 3 cosponsors and awaits action in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
H.R. 5449 has 56 cosponsors and awaits action in the House Judiciary Committee.
More information is available in a press release issued by Senator Padilla.
