Gerrymandering Update: Blue and Red States Get Fs in Princeton Report Card

Published: 05 Nov, 2021
Updated: 18 Jun, 2025
2 min read

Legislatures and redistricting commissions across the United States are in the process of drawing new maps for their legislative and congressional districts, and some states have already drawn new lines to give the party in power even more of an advantage while denying voters opportunities for meaningful representation.

RepresentUs and the Princeton Gerrymandering Project have collaborated on a Redistricting Report Card so voters can get up-to-date information on new maps and what impact they will have on future elections. The report card already shows how rampant the problem of partisan gerrymandering is, and it is not limited to the machinations of one party.

Both Republicans and Democrats use the redistricting process to tilt the electoral scales even more in their favor. Oregon and Illinois, the legislatures of which are controlled by Democrats, both received an overall “F” for their congressional maps. Texas and Wisconsin, both of which are controlled by Republicans, have flunked as well.

The report card looks at three different metrics for maps: partisan fairness, competitiveness, and geographic features, which examines the size, shape, and jurisdictions included in a district. The biggest impact on the overall score, however, is partisan fairness. If a state gets an “F” on that, they fail.

In the case of Illinois, the Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave its congressional maps an “F” across the board. In Texas, the congressional map received an “F” in partisan fairness, a “C” in competitiveness, and another “F” for geographic features

Not all states, however, have performed poorly. The states that have fared best in the report card tend to be the ones that have adopted a citizen-led or independent redistricting commission. Congressional maps approved by independent redistricting commissions in Arizona and Colorado, for instance, got an “A” overall.

The Arizona map was recently approved by the state’s supreme court. The Colorado map is currently undergoing a 30-day public comment period before final adoption.

RepresentUs, the nation’s largest anti-corruption organization, new analysis that further demonstrates how states with commissions, particularly independent commissions, have drawn or are drawing fairer electoral maps this redistricting cycle. Further, the group found that states like Colorado and Arizona had minimal gerrymandering risk because the commissions in these states were set up to prevent partisan bias.

There are 23 states that have redistricting commissions. Seven of these states have independent commissions and eight have advisory commissions. So far this cycle, states with any type of commission are averaging a “B+” overall grade, according to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project’s metrics. Meanwhile, legislature-drawn maps are averaging a “D-.”

IVP Donate

For more updates on the 2021 redistricting process, check out the full redistricting report card here.

In this article

Related articles

Fence in front of Congress.
The Worst Partisan Gerrymanders of the 2020s
With two post-census election cycles in the books, congressional district maps are mostly set for the remainder of the decade – which means we will know the outcomes of the vast majority of House elections before voters even cast ballots in November 2026, 2028 and 2030....
13 Dec, 2024
-
9 min read
two parties
The Parties Strike Back: Deceptive Tactics Lead to Rough Night for More Choice Elections
Voters across the US had a chance to change the political landscape in the country forever. In 2024, however, the two major parties were mostly successful at stopping reform to the electoral status quo....
06 Nov, 2024
-
5 min read
two parties
Democrat-Led Lawsuit Kills Independent Redistricting Initiatives in Nevada
The Nevada Supreme Court on Friday upheld the ruling of a lower district court that two identical ballot questions that would create an independent redistricting commission were invalid because sponsors did not add a revenue source to either initiative....
11 May, 2024
-
2 min read

Latest articles

Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read
A man filling out his election ballot.
Oregon Activist Sues over Closed Primaries: 'I Shouldn't Have to Join a Party to Have a Voice'
A new lawsuit filed in Oregon challenges the constitutionality of the state’s closed primary system, which denies the state’s largest registered voting bloc – independent voters – access to taxpayer-funded primary elections. The suit alleges Oregon is denying the voters equal voting rights...
01 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Supreme Court building.
Supreme Court Sides with Federal Corrections Officers in Lawsuit Over Prison Incident
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 30 that federal prison officers and officials cannot be sued by an inmate who accused them of excessive force during a 2021 incident, delivering a victory for federal corrections personnel concerned about rising legal exposure for doing their jobs....
01 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read