When can Dems start redrawing House districts?

[fujiyama]

OK, so Dems won back the House.

Now how do they keep it? Sure, by effective governing and finding solutions to problems....

But on a longer term basis, Dems have also regained a lot in terms of state legislatures. When can they use this advantage to redraw the districts?

Will this be done only before 2010 or earlier?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. depends on the state, but usually in conjuncion w/ census.

and the census happens every 10 yrs under the constitution

[Hippo_Tron]

2. Because we're not complete scum like DeLay who re-draw whenever we win

The process is so partisan that there has to be some neutrality in it and the only neutrality is the precedent that you do it after a census not after your party wins control of the legislature and the Governor's mansion.

[Lucky Luciano]

4. uhhhhhhh......

you must be one of those "moral values" voters!!!! Something the thugs know nothing about!

[liberalpragmatist]

3. We need a national redistricting reform to get nonpartisan commissions

... drawing boundaries.

Ideally, I'd like to see some proportional representation or multimember districts, but I'm realistic about what can get passed.

[MADem]

6. I'd like to see frigging COMMUNITIES represented--what a concept!!!

I hate these districts that are turd shaped, or crescent shaped, and run through five to ten towns and are two streets wide!!!

What an idea to have a district that encompasses a a town or two, or a definable area, like a city or a county!

[liberalpragmatist]

7. No kidding

Have you seen some of these doosies?

[MADem]

8. Good lord...the first looks like a snake, the second, a gecko that was run over, and the third

looks like a dissected frog!!

It's just...so...SILLY! Eventually, those districts will change. Neighborhoods always do go through adjustments through the years. They oughta just grow up, bite the bullet, and let those districts represent people who have the same damn agenda!

[Selatius]

5. I think the whole affair is greasy

Gerrymandering cannot be stopped as long as you have a system of representation based on single-seat constituent representation. We don't need to re-examine the history of gerrymandering and the minority vote in this country. If I were Pelosi, I'd call for a national constitutional convention on the adoption of proportional representation or a mixed system for the House. The goal would be to break the two-party grip on power and end gerrymandering.

[izzie]

9. After each census if your one of the 49 states, Tx has their own laws

So be it