A visual guide to redistricting

"Before the 2026 midterms, at least eight states - California, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Utah - passed new congressional maps, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. On May 13, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) along with a coalition of civil rights and community organisations filed a lawsuit In Tennessee against the lawmakers who split the state's only majority-Black district centred on Memphis. Legal battles over redistricting also escalated in Texas, Louisiana, Virginia, Alabama and South Carolina over racial gerrymandering and voting rights before the midterms."

"Florida's new congressional map is expected to strengthen Republican control of the state's 28 House seats and could help the party gain up to four additional Republican-leaning districts before the midterms. The previous map already favoured Republicans with Democratic voters concentrated around Orlando, Tampa and South Florida, including Miami. The redraw further clusters Democratic voters into fewer districts while expanding Republican-leaning areas across central and southern Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis pushed the new district map into law."

"Voting rights groups and Democratic organisations filed lawsuits within days, arguing it violates Florida's "Fair Districts" antigerrymandering amendment and was designed to benefit Republicans. Texas Texas remains a major redistricting battleground before the midterms. Republicans hold the majority of the state's House seats at 25 to the Democrats' 13. On April 27, the US Supreme Court reinstated the post-2020 congressional map drawn by Texas Republicans, which was challenged under the Voting Rights Act in a lower court that had blocked the map over allegations of racial gerrymandering."

At least eight states passed new congressional maps before the 2026 midterms, including California, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. In Tennessee, the NAACP and a coalition of civil rights and community organizations filed a lawsuit against lawmakers who split the state’s only majority-Black district centered on Memphis. Redistricting litigation also intensified in Texas, Louisiana, Virginia, Alabama, and South Carolina over claims of racial gerrymandering and voting rights violations. Florida’s new congressional map is expected to strengthen Republican control and potentially add up to four Republican-leaning districts by clustering Democratic voters into fewer districts. DeSantis signed the map into law, and voting rights groups sued, alleging it violates Florida’s Fair Districts antigerrymandering amendment. In Texas, the Supreme Court reinstated the post-2020 congressional map drawn by Republicans after a lower court had blocked it under the Voting Rights Act.

Read at www.aljazeera.com