How Tuesday’s elections could scramble both parties’ redistricting plans

Christian Science Monitor·Nov 7

How Tuesday’s elections could scramble both parties’ redistricting plans

Tuesday’s election results have given Democrats a boost of confidence about their party’s ability to win control of Congress next year. And that momentum shift might affect calculations on both sides of the aisle, as unprecedented redistricting efforts play out in states across the country.At least two states had votes with direct bearing on Democratic redistricting. In California, Proposition 50, the ballot measure allowing state lawmakers to counter redistricting efforts by Republicans in other states and draw a new congressional map with five pick-up opportunities for Democrats, passed by more than 27 percentage points. And Virginia, where Democrats increased their majority in the House of Delegates, is now likely to seek voter approval for a redrawn map that could net Democrats as many as three additional seats.But Tuesday’s results might also prompt Republicans to rethink the wisdom of creating aggressive new maps that would eliminate Democratic districts – but also dilute heavily Republican ones – in order to create more districts that lean Republican. If the Democratic turnout energy and vote margins seen in this week’s elections are an early glimpse of next year’s midterms, then Republicans’ efforts to redraw themselves into a more secure House majority might not go