The latest print version of U.S. News also reminds us why we ought to pay attention to more than just the congressional races during the 2010 election campaign.

Contributing editor Peter Roff, a senior fellow at the small-government advocacy group Institute for Liberty and at the conservative grass-roots group Let Freedom Ring, explains.

The real battle to determine the nation’s political alignment for at least the next decade is happening down ballot and below the radar.

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Here’s why: The new census data will be used to reallocate the seats in the House to match population changes over the last decade, a process called reapportionment. Each state’s congressional district lines will also be redrawn, called redistricting. In most cases, the ability to control that process in a particular state is the privilege of the majority. That’s why party committees, allied organizations, and interest groups sink millions of dollars into these fights to win key governorships and control of state legislative chambers. If one party can gain control of all the pens in a big state like Pennsylvania or Ohio, it gets to draw the lines. And it ca be ruthless. After the 1980 census, California Democrats ? led by the late Rep. Phil Burton ? redrew the Golden State’s House districts, plunging the GOP into permanent minority status there. And that was before the computer revolution allowed political strategists a far greater degree of gerrymandering precision. They can now select voters down to a neighborhood level when fine tuning a new district’s partisan bent, adding to their ability to maximize their side’s advantage. In 2003, the Texas Republicans’ remap of congressional districts ? drawn after the party won control of the legislature in 2002 ? took the Lone Star State’s House delegation from 17 Democrats and 15 Republicans to a 21 to 11 advantage for the GOP.

Roff does not mention the state-level impact. Redistricting also determines whether the two parties will have a level playing field or stacked deck for the elections that determine who crafts the state budget and who gets to fast-track or kill legislation in the General Assembly.

For more on redistricting, check out the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law’s “Constitutional Conversation” on the topic from May 2009. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3