What is redistricting and why do states redistrict?

Redistricting is the process of changing electoral district boundaries in response to periodic Census results. The U.S. Constitution requires that electoral districts be adjusted or redrawn to account for population shifts.

While the Census provides information to states and other jurisdictions on population, the Census is not responsible for redistricting. State legislatures – or in some states, independent bipartisan commissions – are the bodies that redraw district lines. In Delaware, the Legislature is responsible for redrawing electoral districts.

Following the 2000 Census, in 2002, Delaware legislators bickered over a few representative districts. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives proposed increasing the chamber from 41 representatives to 45. The Democratic-controlled Senate opposed the proposal.

Independent Party Chairman Frank Sims filed a lawsuit asking the courts to redraw district lines. Eventually, the matter was settled in Legislative Hall, where lawmakers did not add any new legislators, although they approved redrawing a few electoral districts.

In the Cape Region, the 37th Representative District was affected in the Georgetown-Lewes area. The new district included Lewes and stretched along Route 9 to include all of Georgetown, but cropped out coastal areas south of Lewes, including Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach.

The 2002 reapportionment created a voter base in the 37th that leaned Republican, said then-incumbent Democrat John Schroeder of Lewes, who lost the 2002 election by 44 votes to Republican Joe Booth of Georgetown.

Sussex County Department of Elections Administrative Director Kenneth McDowell said all districts were affected by the Census and, after the 2000 Census, the 14th Representative District was created entirely. Historically, districts were divided up with about 40,000 residents for senatorial districts and about 20,000 resident for representative districts, McDowell said.