The U.S. House of Representatives isn’t the only chamber whose district lines are being redrawn to reflect the 2020 census. State-legislative chambers are being redistricted too — and as we’ve written in the past, state legislatures are often where the laws that have the biggest impact on people’s daily lives are passed. In the last year, state legislatures have passed numerous new election laws, abortion restrictions, anti-transgender laws and more.
The book isn’t closed on legislative redistricting quite yet — seven states still don’t have new maps — but one trend is already clear: Just as congressional redistricting is producing fewer swing districts, very few state-legislative chambers will be competitive this decade.