One of the most important tasks the new General Assembly will face in 2011 involves redrawing legislative and congressional district maps through the process known as redistricting.
The latest Bloomberg Businessweek notes the impact of this week?s election on more than just North Carolina:
Republicans will have unilateral control of about 190 U.S. House districts as a result of the Nov. 2 election, according to Tim Storey, an analyst with the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. “Republicans won a commanding advantage in the redistricting process,” he says.
Over the next several years, 15 to 25 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are more likely to remain Republican or switch from Democratic after redistricting as a result of the party’s victories in the states, says Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican State Leadership Committee. “We’re going to end up protecting a lot as opposed to carving new ones,” he predicted in a conference call with reporters.
The GOP will control 25 legislatures, including Ohio, North Carolina, and Minnesota, boosting its power in statehouses by the most since 1928, the National Conference of State Legislatures says.
