Upcoming redistricting is a backstory of 2018 midterms

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The task of drawing new boundaries for thousands of federal and state legislative districts is still about three years away, yet the political battle over redistricting is playing out in this year’s midterm elections.

A lawsuit challenging the current districts recently threw uncertainty into North Carolina’s congressional races. Another suit resulted in a redrawn map in Pennsylvania. And ballot initiatives seeking to make the redistricting process less partisan are headed to voters in Colorado, Michigan, Missouri and Utah.

At the same time, Democratic and Republican groups are pouring millions of dollars into state races seeking to ensure they have officeholders in position to influence the next round of redistricting.

The results from the 2020 census will be delivered to states in spring 2021. That will trigger a mandatory once-a-decade redistricting for U.S. House and state legislative seats.