The modern implications of redistricting methods are heavily debated. The current system in many states of having single-party controlled legislatures create the districts has led to strong criticism. Many observers cite this as one of the primary reasons for the increasing partisanship within government, both federally and in the individual states.

Following the 2010 U.S. Census, states were tasked with redistricting based upon the new demographics. Many states have created districts that are heavily saturated by one ideology, making it more difficult for the opposition minority party to challenge for increasingly secured seats. Olympia Snowe, a former Republican Senator from Maine, has been a vocal critic of this through her organization, the Bipartisan Policy Center. She argues that this makes it so that members of Congress lack accountability for their actions because they know there is not a large enough population to challenge their seat in their home district.

Several attempts to overhaul the redistricting process have been introduced with limited success. Notably, John S. Tanner, a Democrat and former U.S. Representative for Tennessee’s 8th congressional district, introduced a bill in 2009 that would establish independent, bipartisan commissions to redraw congressional district lines. Under the Tanner proposal, these commissions would do a party-blind redistricting of the state based solely upon county lines, population and straight lines. Other members of congress have introduced similar legislation in 2011 and 2013, with minimal success.

Some states have adopted a process similar to the Tanner proposal. The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that twelve states have fully removed first and final authority for legislative redistricting from the legislature. Six of these have handed the responsibility to a commission not unlike the one Tanner attempted to push through Congress.

Organizations, including the Bipartisan Policy Center, FairVote.org and the USC Annenberg Center, have worked to educate the public and policy makers on the important role redistricting plays in elections. While these various organizations disagree in many ways on an approach, they all agree there is a problem. As many of the organizations point out on their web site, David Winston, the man responsible for drawing the House districts for the Republican party following the 1990 Census, is famous for a comment he made before Congress; “As a mapmaker, I can have more of an impact on an election than a campaign or the candidate.”