I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4000 

To establish the use of ranked choice voting in elections for Representatives 

in Congress, to require each State with more than one Representative 

to establish multi-member congressional districts, to require States to 

conduct congressional redistricting through independent commissions, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2019 

Mr. BEYER (for himself, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. 

COOPER, and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish the use of ranked choice voting in elections 

for Representatives in Congress, to require each State 

with more than one Representative to establish multimember congressional districts, to require States to conduct congressional redistricting through independent 

commissions, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Fair Representation Act’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Finding of constitutional authority. 

TITLE I—RANKED CHOICE VOTING 

Sec. 101. Requiring ranked choice voting for election of Representatives. 

‘‘Subtitle C—Ranked Choice Voting 

‘‘PART 1—REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR ELECTION OF

REPRESENTATIVES

‘‘Sec. 321. Requiring ranked choice voting for election of Representatives. 

‘‘Sec. 322. Application to District of Columbia and territories. 

‘‘Sec. 323. Treatment of States not holding primary elections prior to date 

of general election. 

‘‘PART 2—TABULATION PROCESS

‘‘Sec. 331. Tabulation for single-seat congressional elections. 

‘‘Sec. 332. Tabulation for multi-seat congressional elections. 

‘‘Sec. 333. Exclusion of inactive ballots. 

‘‘Sec. 334. Batch elimination. 

‘‘Sec. 335. Treatment of ties between candidates. 

‘‘Sec. 336. Continuing candidate defined. 

‘‘PART 3—PAYMENTS TO STATES TO IMPLEMENT RANKED CHOICE VOTING

‘‘Sec. 341. Payments to States to implement ranked choice voting. 

Sec. 102. Applicability of enforcement provisions of Help America Vote Act of 

2002. 

Sec. 103. Effective date. 

TITLE II—MULTI-MEMBER DISTRICTS 

Sec. 201. Requiring use of multi-member districts in certain States. 

Sec. 202. Requiring certain States to elect all Representatives at large. 

Sec. 203. Establishing minimum number of candidates in general election. 

Sec. 204. Conforming amendments. 

Sec. 205. Exception for States in which use of multi-member districts will result in diminishment of voting rights. 

Sec. 206. Effective date. 

TITLE III—REQUIREMENTS FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING 

Subtitle A—General Requirements 


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Sec. 301. Requiring congressional redistricting to be conducted through plan of 

independent State commission. 

Sec. 302. Limit on congressional redistricting after an apportionment. 

Subtitle B—Independent Redistricting Commissions 

Sec. 311. Independent redistricting commission. 

Sec. 312. Establishment of selection pool of individuals eligible to serve as 

members of commission. 

Sec. 313. Criteria for redistricting plan by independent commission; public notice and input. 

Sec. 314. Establishment of related entities. 

Sec. 315. Report on diversity of memberships of independent redistricting commissions. 

Subtitle C—Role of Courts in Development of Redistricting Plans 

Sec. 321. Enactment of plan developed by 3-judge court. 

Sec. 322. Special rule for redistricting conducted under order of Federal court. 

Subtitle D—Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions 

Sec. 331. Payments to States for carrying out redistricting. 

Sec. 332. Civil enforcement. 

Sec. 333. State apportionment notice defined. 

TITLE IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. No effect on elections for State and local office. 

Sec. 402. Severability. 

Sec. 403. Effective date. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. 

2 Congress finds that it has the authority to establish 

3 the terms and conditions States must follow in carrying 

4 out congressional redistricting after an apportionment of 

5 Members of the House of Representatives and in admin6 istering elections for the House of Representatives be7 cause— 

8 (1) the authority granted to Congress under ar9 ticle I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United 

10 States gives Congress the power to enact laws gov11 erning the time, place, and manner of elections for 

12 Members of the House of Representatives; and 


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1 (2) the authority granted to Congress under 

2 section 5 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitu3 tion gives Congress the power to enact laws to en4 force section 2 of such amendment, which requires 

5 Representatives to be apportioned among the several 

6 States according to their number. 

7 TITLE I—RANKED CHOICE 

8 VOTING 

9 SEC. 101. REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR ELEC10 TION OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help America 

12 Vote Act of 2001 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended 

13 by adding at the end the following new subtitle: 

14 ‘‘Subtitle C—Ranked Choice Voting 

15 ‘‘PART 1—REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING 

16 FOR ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES 

17 ‘‘SEC. 321. REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR ELEC18 TION OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

19 ‘‘(a) RANKED CHOICE VOTING.—Each State shall 

20 carry out elections for the office of Representative in Con21 gress using a system of ranked choice voting under which 

22 each voter shall rank the candidates for the office in the 

23 order of the voter’s preference, in accordance with the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(1) In any single-seat election, the State shall 

2 carry out the election using single-seat ranked choice 

3 voting as described in section 331. 

4 ‘‘(2) In any multi-seat election, the State shall 

5 carry out the election using multi-seat ranked choice 

6 voting as described in section 332. 

7 ‘‘(b) BALLOT DESIGN.—Each State shall ensure that 

8 the ballot used in an election carried out using a system 

9 of ranked choice voting under this title meets each of the 

10 following requirements: 

11 ‘‘(1) The ballot shall be simple and easy to un12 derstand. 

13 ‘‘(2) The ballot shall include all qualified can14 didates for the election and (to the extent permitted 

15 under State law) options for voters to select write16 in candidates. If feasible, the ballot shall permit vot17 ers to rank every candidate in the election. If it is 

18 not feasible for the ballot to permit voters to rank 

19 every candidate, the State may limit the number of 

20 candidates who may be ranked on the ballot to not 

21 fewer than six. 

22 ‘‘(3) The ballot shall include such instructions 

23 as the State considers necessary to enable the voter 

24 to rank candidates and successfully cast the ballot 

25 under the system. 


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1 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this title— 

2 ‘‘(1) the term ‘single-seat election’ means any 

3 primary election in which exactly one candidate in 

4 the primary election will advance to the general elec5 tion, any special election for exactly one seat, and 

6 any general election in which only one Representa7 tive is elected at large; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the term ‘multi-seat election’ means any 

9 primary election in which more than one candidate 

10 in the primary election will advance to the general 

11 election, any special election for more than one seat, 

12 and any general election in which more than one 

13 Representative is elected at large or in a multi-mem14 ber district. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 322. APPLICATION TO DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND 

16 TERRITORIES. 

17 ‘‘(a) ELECTION OF DELEGATES AND RESIDENT COM18 MISSIONER.—In this subtitle, the term ‘Representative’ in19 cludes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Con20 gress. 

21 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION TO NORTHERN MARIANA IS22 LANDS.—This subtitle shall apply with respect to the 

23 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the 

24 same manner as this subtitle applies to a State. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 323. TREATMENT OF STATES NOT HOLDING PRIMARY 

2 ELECTIONS PRIOR TO DATE OF GENERAL 

3 ELECTION. 

4 ‘‘Nothing in this title shall be construed to require 

5 a State to hold a primary election for the office of Rep6 resentative in Congress prior to the date established under 

7 section 25 of the Revised Statutes of the United States 

8 (2 U.S.C. 7) for the regularly scheduled general election 

9 for such office, so long as the determination of the can10 didates who are elected to such office is based solely on 

11 the votes cast with respect to the election held on such 

12 date, as determined in accordance with the system of 

13 ranked choice voting under this title. 

14 ‘‘PART 2—TABULATION PROCESS 

15 ‘‘SEC. 331. TABULATION FOR SINGLE-SEAT CONGRES16 SIONAL ELECTIONS. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF CANDIDATE’S NUM19 BER OF VOTES.—In the case of a single-seat elec20 tion, the number of votes received by a candidate in 

21 either the initial tabulation or in an additional round 

22 of tabulation shall be equal to the number of ballots 

23 on which that candidate is the highest ranked con24 tinuing candidate. 

25 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR ELECTION.—In the case of 

26 a single-seat election, a candidate shall be elected to 


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1 the office of Representative in Congress (or, in the 

2 case of a primary election, shall advance to the gen3 eral election for such office as provided under the 

4 law of the State involved) if— 

5 ‘‘(A) in the initial tabulation of ballots, the 

6 candidate receives a number of votes greater 

7 than 50 percent of the number of ballots cast 

8 in the election; or 

9 ‘‘(B) if the election official carries out an 

10 additional round of tabulation under subsection 

11 (b), the candidate receives the greatest number 

12 of votes of the 2 remaining continuing can13 didates (as described in such subsection). 

14 ‘‘(b) PROCESS IN CASE NO CANDIDATE ELECTED

15 UNDER INITIAL TABULATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF TABULATION.— 

17 If, under the initial tabulation of ballots, no can18 didate is elected to office (or, in the case of a pri19 mary election, no candidate advances to the general 

20 election for such office) under the criteria described 

21 in subsection (a)(2)(A), the election official shall 

22 carry out additional rounds of tabulation in accord23 ance with paragraph (2) until only two continuing 

24 candidates remain. 


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1 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF BALLOTS IN ADDITIONAL

2 ROUNDS.—In each additional round of tabulation 

3 carried out under this subsection— 

4 ‘‘(A) the candidate receiving the fewest 

5 number of votes among all candidates (or, in 

6 the case of a State which applies batch elimi7 nation under section 334, each candidate in the 

8 batch elimination group) shall be treated as a 

9 defeated candidate; 

10 ‘‘(B) for each ballot cast for a defeated 

11 candidate, the election official shall determine 

12 the highest-ranked candidate on the ballot who 

13 is a continuing candidate; and 

14 ‘‘(C) the vote cast on the ballot shall be 

15 transferred to, and added to the total number 

16 of votes received by, the highest-ranked con17 tinuing candidate determined under subpara18 graph (B). 

19 ‘‘SEC. 332. TABULATION FOR MULTI-SEAT CONGRESSIONAL 

20 ELECTIONS. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 ‘‘(1) VOTES COUNTED IN ROUNDS.—In the case 

23 of a multi-seat election, the votes shall be counted in 

24 a series of rounds of tabulation until the number of 

25 winning candidates equals the required number of 


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1 winning candidates with respect to the election, as 

2 described in paragraph (4). 

3 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR ELECTION.—In the case of 

4 a multi-seat election, a candidate shall be considered 

5 a winning candidate and shall be elected to one of 

6 the offices of Representative in the congressional 

7 district (or, in the case of a primary election, shall 

8 advance to the general election for such offices as 

9 provided under the law of State involved) if— 

10 ‘‘(A) in any round, the candidate has a 

11 vote total that exceeds the multi-seat election 

12 threshold, as determined under this section; or 

13 ‘‘(B) the candidate is a continuing can14 didate and the number of remaining continuing 

15 candidates plus the number of candidates al16 ready designated as winning candidates is equal 

17 to or less than the required number of winning 

18 candidates with respect to the election. 

19 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF MULTI-SEAT ELEC20 TION THRESHOLD.—The multi-seat election thresh21 old with respect to an election shall be equal to the 

22 total number of valid votes cast in the election di23 vided by the sum of the number one and the re24 quired number of winning candidates with respect to 

25 the election, rounded up to four decimal places. 


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1 ‘‘(4) TABULATION PROCESS.—In the case of a 

2 multi-seat election, the votes shall be counted in a 

3 series of rounds, beginning with the initial round, 

4 under which each candidate has a number of votes 

5 equal to the number of votes cast in the election in 

6 which the candidate was the highest-ranked can7 didate, and proceeding as follows: 

8 ‘‘(A) If, following any round of counting, 

9 the number of winning and continuing can10 didates combined is greater than the required 

11 number of winning candidates with respect to 

12 the election, and at least one candidate has a 

13 vote total that exceeds the multi-seat election 

14 threshold, as determined under this section, 

15 then the following round shall be a surplus tab16 ulation round. 

17 ‘‘(B) If, following any round of counting, 

18 the number of winning and continuing can19 didates combined is greater than the required 

20 number of winning candidates with respect to 

21 the election, and no candidate has a vote total 

22 that exceeds the multi-seat election threshold, 

23 as determined under this section, then the fol24 lowing round shall be a candidate elimination 

25 round. 


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1 ‘‘(C) If, following any round of counting, 

2 the number of winning and continuing can3 didates combined is equal to or less than the re4 quired number of winning candidates with re5 spect to the election, then the remaining con6 tinuing candidates shall be designated as win7 ning candidates, and the tabulation is complete. 

8 ‘‘(5) TABULATION ROUNDS DESCRIBED.— 

9 ‘‘(A) SURPLUS TABULATION ROUND.—In 

10 this section, a ‘surplus tabulation round’ is a 

11 tabulation round under which each candidate 

12 with a vote total greater than the multi-seat 

13 election threshold is designated as a winning 

14 candidate and the surplus votes for such can15 didate are transferred to other candidates, as 

16 described in subsection (b)(2). 

17 ‘‘(B) CANDIDATE ELIMINATION ROUND.— 

18 In this section, a ‘candidate elimination round’ 

19 is a tabulation round under which the candidate 

20 with the fewest votes is designated as defeated 

21 and votes for that candidate are transferred to 

22 other candidates, as described in subsection 

23 (b)(3). 

24 ‘‘(b) PROCESS FOR TRANSFERRING VOTES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) SURPLUS TABULATION ROUNDS.—In a 

2 surplus tabulation round, each candidate with a vote 

3 total that exceeds the multi-seat election threshold 

4 shall be designated as a winning candidate, and the 

5 election official shall transfer the surplus votes for 

6 each such candidate to other candidates as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) The official shall determine the sur8 plus fraction for each candidate designated as a 

9 winning candidate at the beginning of the 

10 round by taking the difference between the can11 didate’s vote total at the beginning of the round 

12 and the multi-seat election threshold, and divid13 ing that difference by the candidate’s vote total 

14 at the beginning of the round. 

15 ‘‘(B) The official shall reweight each vote 

16 counting for each candidate designated as a 

17 winning candidate at the beginning of the 

18 round by multiplying the vote’s current weight 

19 (equal to one if the vote has not been re20 weighted in any prior surplus tabulation round) 

21 by the surplus fraction determined with respect 

22 to the candidate under subparagraph (A), 

23 rounding down to four decimal places. 

24 ‘‘(C) The official shall transfer each vote 

25 counting for each candidate designated as a 


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1 winning candidate at the beginning of the 

2 round to the highest ranked continuing can3 didate on the ballot on which the vote was cast, 

4 counting the vote as a fraction of a vote equal 

5 to its new weight as determined under subpara6 graph (B). 

7 ‘‘(D) For all subsequent surplus tabulation 

8 rounds, the official shall set the vote total of 

9 each candidate designated as a winning can10 didate at the beginning of the round to be equal 

11 to the multi-seat election threshold. 

12 ‘‘(2) CANDIDATE ELIMINATION ROUNDS.—In a 

13 candidate elimination round, the candidate with the 

14 fewest votes (or, in the case of a State which applies 

15 batch elimination under section 334, each candidate 

16 in the batch elimination group) shall be designated 

17 as defeated, and the election official shall transfer 

18 the votes for such candidate to other candidates as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘(A) The official shall transfer each vote 

21 counting for the candidate designated as de22 feated at the beginning of the round to the 

23 highest ranked continuing candidate on the bal24 lot on which the vote was cast, except that if 

25 the vote was counted as a fraction of a vote due 


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1 to being reweighted in a prior surplus transfer 

2 round, it shall continue to count as the same 

3 fraction of a vote in the subsequent candidate 

4 elimination round. 

5 ‘‘(B) For all subsequent candidate elimi6 nation rounds, the official shall set the vote 

7 total of each candidate designated as defeated 

8 at the beginning of the round to zero votes. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 333. EXCLUSION OF INACTIVE BALLOTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) INITIAL TABULATION.—In the initial tabulation 

11 of ballots under section 331 or the initial round of tabula12 tion under section 332, if a vote is cast on an inactive 

13 ballot, no vote on the ballot shall be counted for any can14 didate. 

15 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF TABULATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) SINGLE-SEAT ELECTIONS.—In any addi17 tional round of tabulation conducted with respect to 

18 a single-seat election under section 331(b), if a vote 

19 cast for a defeated candidate is cast on an inactive 

20 ballot, no vote on the ballot may be transferred to 

21 a continuing candidate under section 331(b). 

22 ‘‘(2) MULTI-SEAT ELECTIONS.—In any addi23 tional round of tabulation conducted with respect to 

24 a multi-seat election under section 332(b)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) if a vote cast for the winning can2 didate is cast on an inactive ballot, no portion 

3 of the surplus vote on such ballot may be trans4 ferred to a continuing candidate under any sur5 plus vote tabulation round described in para6 graph (2) of section 332(b); and 

7 ‘‘(B) if a vote cast for a defeated candidate 

8 is cast on an inactive ballot, the vote may not 

9 be transferred to any continuing candidate 

10 under any candidate elimination round de11 scribed in paragraph (3) of section 332(b). 

12 ‘‘(c) INACTIVE BALLOT DEFINED.—In this sub13 section, the term ‘inactive ballot’ means— 

14 ‘‘(1) a ballot on which the voter does not rank 

15 any of the continuing candidates in order of pref16 erence; 

17 ‘‘(2) a ballot on which the voter ranked more 

18 than one continuing candidate at the highest order 

19 of preference; or 

20 ‘‘(3) a ballot on which the voter skips two or 

21 more consecutive numerical rankings prior to the 

22 ranking for the continuing candidate at the highest 

23 order of preference. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 334. BATCH ELIMINATION. 

2 ‘‘At the option of the State, with respect to any can3 didate elimination round carried out under this subsection, 

4 a State may use batch elimination to treat multiple can5 didates as defeated candidates for purposes of section 

6 331(b)(2) and section 332(b)(2). A continuing candidate 

7 is in the elimination batch if the number of winning and 

8 continuing candidates with more votes than that candidate 

9 is greater than the number of winning candidates required 

10 with respect to the election, and it is mathematically im11 possible for that candidate to be a winning candidate in 

12 the election for any of the following reasons: 

13 ‘‘(1) The candidate’s vote total in the initial 

14 tabulation of ballots plus all of the votes that could 

15 possibly be transferred to the candidate in the addi16 tional rounds of tabulation would not be enough to 

17 equal or surpass the continuing candidate with the 

18 next highest vote total in the initial tabulation of 

19 ballots. 

20 ‘‘(2) The candidate has a lower current vote 

21 total than a continuing candidate who is described 

22 by paragraph (1). 

23 ‘‘SEC. 335. TREATMENT OF TIES BETWEEN CANDIDATES. 

24 ‘‘If a tie occurs between candidates with the greatest 

25 number of votes or the fewest number of votes at any point 

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1 tion cannot proceed until the tie is resolved, the tie shall 

2 be resolved in accordance with State law. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 336. CONTINUING CANDIDATE DEFINED. 

4 ‘‘In this part, the term ‘continuing candidate’ means, 

5 with respect to any round of tabulation under this part, 

6 a candidate who is neither a winning candidate nor a can7 didate who is treated as a defeated candidate under such 

8 subsection during the tabulation of ballots under that 

9 round of tabulation. 

10 ‘‘PART 3—PAYMENTS TO STATES TO IMPLEMENT 

11 RANKED CHOICE VOTING 

12 ‘‘SEC. 341. PAYMENTS TO STATES TO IMPLEMENT RANKED 

13 CHOICE VOTING. 

14 ‘‘(a) PAYMENTS.—Not later than June 1, 2021, the 

15 Commission shall make a payment to the State in an 

16 amount equal to— 

17 ‘‘(1) in the case of the District of Columbia, the 

18 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 

19 Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and the 

20 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

21 $1,500,000; or 

22 ‘‘(2) in the case of any other State, the sum of 

23 $1,000,000 and the product of— 

24 ‘‘(A) the number of Representatives to 

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1 tionment of Representatives resulting from the 

2 regular decennial census conducted during 

3 2020; and 

4 ‘‘(B) $500,000. 

5 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State shall use the payment 

6 made under subsection (a) to implement ranked choice 

7 voting under this subtitle, including educating voters 

8 about ranked choice voting, and to otherwise carry out 

9 elections for Federal office in the State. 

10 ‘‘(c) NO EFFECT ON REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS.— 

11 The receipt or use of the payment made under this section 

12 shall not affect a State’s eligibility for or use of a require13 ments payment made under part 1 of subtitle D of title 

14 II. 

15 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

17 necessary for payments under this section.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

19 of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the item 

20 relating to title III the following: 

‘‘Subtitle C—Ranked Choice Voting 

‘‘PART 1—REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR ELECTION OF

REPRESENTATIVES

‘‘Sec. 321. Requiring ranked choice voting for election of Representatives. 

‘‘Sec. 322. Application to District of Columbia and territories. 

‘‘Sec. 323. Treatment of States not holding primary elections prior to date 

of general election. 

‘‘PART 2—TABULATION PROCESS


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‘‘Sec. 331. Tabulation for single-seat congressional elections. 

‘‘Sec. 332. Tabulation for multi-seat congressional elections. 

‘‘Sec. 333. Exclusion of inactive ballots. 

‘‘Sec. 334. Batch elimination. 

‘‘Sec. 335. Treatment of ties between candidates. 

‘‘Sec. 336. Continuing candidate defined. 

‘‘PART 3—PAYMENTS TO STATES TO IMPLEMENT RANKED CHOICE VOTING

‘‘Sec. 341. Payments to States to implement ranked choice voting. 

1 SEC. 102. APPLICABILITY OF ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS 

2 OF HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002. 

3 Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

4 (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 

5 302, and 303’’ and inserting ‘‘title III’’. 

6 SEC. 103. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 This title and the amendments made by this title 

8 shall apply with respect to elections held pursuant to the 

9 reapportionment of Representatives resulting from the 

10 regular decennial census conducted during 2020 and all 

11 subsequent elections. 

12 TITLE II—MULTI-MEMBER 

13 DISTRICTS 

14 SEC. 201. REQUIRING USE OF MULTI-MEMBER DISTRICTS 

15 IN CERTAIN STATES. 

16 (a) RULES FOR STATES WITH SIX OR MORE REP17 RESENTATIVES.—If a State is entitled to six or more Rep18 resentatives in Congress under an apportionment made 

19 under section 22(a) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide 

20 for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and 

21 to provide for an apportionment of Representatives in 


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1 Congress’’, approved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(a)), the 

2 State shall establish a number of districts for the election 

3 of Representatives in the State that is less than the num4 ber of Representatives to which the State is entitled, and 

5 Representatives shall be elected only from districts so es6 tablished. 

7 (b) CRITERIA FOR NUMBER OF DISTRICTS.—In es8 tablishing the number of districts for the State under sub9 section (a), the State shall follow the following criteria: 

10 (1) The State shall ensure that districts shall 

11 each have equal population per Representative as 

12 nearly as practicable, in accordance with the Con13 stitution of the United States. 

14 (2) The number of Representatives to be elected 

15 from any district may not be fewer than three or 

16 greater than five. 

17 SEC. 202. REQUIRING CERTAIN STATES TO ELECT ALL REP18 RESENTATIVES AT LARGE. 

19 If a State is entitled to five or fewer Representatives 

20 in Congress under an apportionment made under section 

21 22(a) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fif22 teenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide 

23 for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress’’, ap24 proved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(a)), the State shall 

25 elect all such Representatives at large. 


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1 SEC. 203. ESTABLISHING MINIMUM NUMBER OF CAN2 DIDATES IN GENERAL ELECTION. 

3 (a) STATES WITH PARTISAN NOMINATING PRI4 MARIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—If, in a primary election for 

6 the office of Representative, the candidates that ad7 vance to the general election do so by winning the 

8 nomination of a political party (without regard to 

9 whether or not the election is open or closed to vot10 ers on the basis of political party preference), the 

11 State shall ensure that the number of candidates to 

12 be nominated by each political party is equal to the 

13 number of Representatives who will be elected from 

14 the district involved. 

15 (2) AUTHORITY OF POLITICAL PARTIES TO DE16 TERMINE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES ADVANCING IN

17 MULTI-SEAT ELECTIONS.—Notwithstanding para18 graph (1), in the case of a primary election de19 scribed in such paragraph which is a multi-seat pri20 mary election, a State may permit a political party 

21 to adopt a rule that provides for such number of 

22 nominees of that political party to advance to the 

23 general election as the party considers appropriate, 

24 so long as the number is not less than two. 

25 (3) MULTI-SEAT PRIMARY ELECTION DE26 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘multi-seat 


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1 primary election’’ means a primary election held to 

2 select the candidates for a general election in which 

3 more than one Representative shall be elected. 

4 (b) STATES WITH NONPARTISAN BLANKET PRI5 MARIES.— 

6 (1) NUMBER OF CANDIDATES.—If a State uses 

7 a nonpartisan blanket primary election to determine 

8 which candidates will advance to the general election 

9 for the office of Representative, the State shall en10 sure that the number of candidates who advance to 

11 the general election for the office is not less than the 

12 greater of— 

13 (A) five; 

14 (B) twice the number of Representatives 

15 who will be elected from the district involved; or 

16 (C) such greater number as the State may 

17 establish by law. 

18 (2) NONPARTISAN BLANKET PRIMARY ELEC19 TION DEFINED.—In this subsection, a ‘‘nonpartisan 

20 blanket primary election’’ is a primary election for 

21 the office of Representative conducted prior to the 

22 date established under section 25 of the Revised 

23 Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C. 7) for the 

24 regularly scheduled general election for such office, 

25 under which— 


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1 (A) each candidate for such office, regard2 less of the candidate’s political party preference 

3 or lack thereof, shall appear on a single ballot; 

4 (B) each voter in the State who is eligible 

5 to vote in elections for Federal office in the dis6 trict involved may cast a ballot in the election, 

7 regardless of the voter’s political party pref8 erence or lack thereof; and 

9 (C) the identification and number of can10 didates who advance to the general election for 

11 the office is determined without regard to the 

12 candidates’ political party preferences or lack 

13 thereof. 

14 (c) EXCEPTION FOR STATES NOT HOLDING PRIMARY

15 ELECTIONS PRIOR TO DATE OF REGULARLY SCHEDULED

16 GENERAL ELECTION.—In the case of a State that does 

17 not hold primary elections for the office of Representative 

18 prior to the date established under section 25 of the Re19 vised Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C. 7) for the 

20 regularly scheduled general election for such offices, all 

21 seats shall be elected at the election taking place on such 

22 date. 

23 SEC. 204. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

24 (a) ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES PRIOR TO RE25 APPORTIONMENT.—Section 22(c) of the Act entitled ‘‘An 


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1 Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial 

2 censuses and to provide for an apportionment of Rep3 resentatives in Congress’’, approved June 18, 1929 (2 

4 U.S.C. 2a(c)), is amended by striking ‘‘Until a State’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘Except as provided in title II of the Fair Rep6 resentation Act, until a State’’. 

7 (b) NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Section 22(b) 

8 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for apportioning 

9 Representatives in Congress among the several States by 

10 the equal proportions method’’, approved November 15, 

11 1941 (2 U.S.C. 2b), is amended by striking ‘‘Each State’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in title II of the Fair 

13 Representation Act, each State’’. 

14 (c) NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH

15 DISTRICT.—The Act entitled ‘‘An Act for the relief of 

16 Doctor Ricardo Vallejo Samala and to provide for congres17 sional redistricting’’, approved December 14, 1967 (2 

18 U.S.C. 2c), is amended by striking ‘‘In each State’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘Except as provided in title II of the Fair Rep20 resentation Act, in each State’’. 

21 (d) NOMINATION FOR REPRESENTATIVES AT

22 LARGE.—Section 5 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act For the 

23 apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the 

24 several States under the Thirteenth Census’’, approved 

25 August 8, 1911 (2 U.S.C. 5), is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘Candidates for Representative’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as 

2 provided in title II of the Fair Representation Act, can3 didates for Representative’’. 

4 SEC. 205. EXCEPTION FOR STATES IN WHICH USE OF 

5 MULTI-MEMBER DISTRICTS WILL RESULT IN 

6 DIMINISHMENT OF VOTING RIGHTS. 

7 (a) EXCEPTION.—If the written evaluation of any of 

8 the redistricting plans of the independent redistricting 

9 commission of a State under subtitle B of title III with 

10 respect to the apportionment of Representatives resulting 

11 from a decennial census, as developed and published under 

12 section 313(e), indicates that the redistricting plan will 

13 deny or abridge the right to vote by having the effect of 

14 diminishing the ability of any citizens of the United States 

15 on account of race or color, or in contravention of the 

16 guarantees set forth in section 4(f)(2) of the Voting 

17 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10303(f)(2)), to elect their 

18 preferred candidates of choice— 

19 (1) this title shall not apply with respect to any 

20 election held in the State which is based on the ap21 portionment of Representatives to which such redis22 tricting plan would apply; and 

23 (2) the independent redistricting commission 

24 shall (in accordance with subtitle B of title III) de25 velop and publish a redistricting plan for the State 


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1 for purposes of title III under which there are no 

2 multi-member districts in the State. 

3 (b) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Noth4 ing in this section shall be construed to waive the applica5 tion of any of the other titles of this Act or the amend6 ments made by any of the other titles of this Act to a 

7 State for which there are no multi-member districts as a 

8 result of this section, including the requirement to use 

9 ranked choice voting as set forth in title I or the require10 ment to carry out congressional redistricting in the State 

11 through the use of independent redistricting commissions 

12 as set forth in title III. 

13 SEC. 206. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

14 This title and the amendments made by this title 

15 shall apply with respect to the One Hundred Eighteenth 

16 Congress and each subsequent Congress. 

17 TITLE III—REQUIREMENTS FOR 

18 CONGRESSIONAL REDIS19 TRICTING 

20 Subtitle A—General Requirements 

21 SEC. 301. REQUIRING CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING TO 

22 BE CONDUCTED THROUGH PLAN OF INDE23 PENDENT STATE COMMISSION. 

24 (a) USE OF PLAN REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding any 

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1 section (c) and subsection (d), any congressional redis2 tricting conducted by a State shall be conducted in accord3 ance with— 

4 (1) the redistricting plan developed and enacted 

5 into law by the independent redistricting commission 

6 established in the State, in accordance with subtitle 

7 B; or 

8 (2) if a plan developed by such commission is 

9 not enacted into law, the redistricting plan developed 

10 and enacted into law by a 3-judge court, in accord11 ance with section 321. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 22(c) of 

13 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and 

14 subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an ap15 portionment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved 

16 June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(c)), is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘in the manner provided by the law thereof’’ and insert18 ing: ‘‘in the manner provided by the Redistricting Reform 

19 Act of 2019’’. 

20 (c) SPECIAL RULE FOR EXISTING COMMISSIONS.— 

21 Subsection (a) does not apply to any State in which, under 

22 law in effect continuously on and after the date of the 

23 enactment of this Act, congressional redistricting is car24 ried out in accordance with a plan developed and approved 


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1 by an independent redistricting commission which is in 

2 compliance with each of the following requirements: 

3 (1) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE APPLICATION PROC4 ESS.—Membership on the commission is open to citi5 zens of the State through a publicly available appli6 cation process. 

7 (2) DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR GOVERNMENT

8 SERVICE AND POLITICAL APPOINTMENT.—Individ9 uals who, for a covered period of time as established 

10 by the State, hold or have held public office, individ11 uals who are or have been candidates for elected 

12 public office, and individuals who serve or have 

13 served as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of 

14 a campaign committee of a candidate for public of15 fice are disqualified from serving on the commission. 

16 (3) SCREENING FOR CONFLICTS.—Individuals 

17 who apply to serve on the commission are screened 

18 through a process that excludes persons with con19 flicts of interest from the pool of potential commis20 sioners. 

21 (4) MULTI-PARTISAN COMPOSITION.—Member22 ship on the commission represents those who are af23 filiated with the two political parties whose can24 didates received the most votes in the most recent 

25 statewide election for Federal office held in the 


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1 State, as well as those who are unaffiliated with any 

2 party or who are affiliated with political parties 

3 other than the two political parties whose candidates 

4 received the most votes in the most recent statewide 

5 election for Federal office held in the State. 

6 (5) CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING.—Members 

7 of the commission are required to meet certain cri8 teria in the map drawing process, including mini9 mizing the division of communities of interest and a 

10 ban on drawing maps to favor a political party. 

11 (6) PUBLIC INPUT.—Public hearings are held 

12 and comments from the public are accepted before 

13 a final map is approved. 

14 (7) BROAD-BASED SUPPORT FOR APPROVAL OF

15 FINAL PLAN.—The approval of the final redistricting 

16 plan requires a majority vote of the members of the 

17 commission, including the support of at least one 

18 member of each of the following: 

19 (A) Members who are affiliated with the 

20 political party whose candidate received the 

21 most votes in the most recent statewide election 

22 for Federal office held in the State. 

23 (B) Members who are affiliated with the 

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1 ond most votes in the most recent statewide 

2 election for Federal office held in the State. 

3 (C) Members who not affiliated with any 

4 political party or who are affiliated with polit5 ical parties other than the political parties de6 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

7 (d) TREATMENT OF STATE OF IOWA.—Subsection (a) 

8 does not apply to the State of Iowa, so long as congres9 sional redistricting in such State is carried out in accord10 ance with a plan developed by the Iowa Legislative Serv11 ices Agency with the assistance of a Temporary Redis12 tricting Advisory Commission, under law which was in ef13 fect for the most recent congressional redistricting carried 

14 out in the State prior to the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act and which remains in effect continuously on and after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 302. LIMIT ON CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING 

18 AFTER AN APPORTIONMENT. 

19 A State which has been redistricted in the manner 

20 provided by law after an apportionment under section 

21 22(a) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fif22 teenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide 

23 for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress’’, ap24 proved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), may not be redis25 tricted again until after the next apportionment of RepVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4000.IH H4000

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1 resentatives under such section, unless a court requires 

2 the State to conduct such subsequent redistricting to com3 ply with the Constitution, to enforce the Voting Rights 

4 Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), to comply with 

5 this Act, or to comply with any other applicable Federal 

6 law. 

7 Subtitle B—Independent 

8 Redistricting Commissions 

9 SEC. 311. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION. 

10 (a) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The nonpartisan agency es12 tablished or designated by a State under section 

13 314(a) shall establish an independent redistricting 

14 commission for the State, which shall consist of 15 

15 members appointed by the agency as follows: 

16 (A) Not later than October 1 of a year 

17 ending in the numeral zero, the agency shall, at 

18 a public meeting held not earlier than 15 days 

19 after notice of the meeting has been given to 

20 the public, first appoint 6 members as follows: 

21 (i) The agency shall appoint 2 mem22 bers on a random basis from the majority 

23 category of the approved selection pool (as 

24 described in section 312(b)(1)(A)). 


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1 (ii) The agency shall appoint 2 mem2 bers on a random basis from the minority 

3 category of the approved selection pool (as 

4 described in section 312(b)(1)(B)). 

5 (iii) The agency shall appoint 2 mem6 bers on a random basis from the inde7 pendent category of the approved selection 

8 pool (as described in section 312(b)(1)(C)). 

9 (B) Not later than November 15 of a year 

10 ending in the numeral zero, the members ap11 pointed by the agency under subparagraph (A) 

12 shall, at a public meeting held not earlier than 

13 15 days after notice of the meeting has been 

14 given to the public, then appoint 9 members as 

15 follows: 

16 (i) The members shall appoint 3 mem17 bers from the majority category of the ap18 proved selection pool (as described in sec19 tion 312(b)(1)(A)). 

20 (ii) The members shall appoint 3 

21 members from the minority category of the 

22 approved selection pool (as described in 

23 section 312(b)(1)(B)). 

24 (iii) The members shall appoint 3 

25 members from the independent category of 


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1 the approved selection pool (as described in 

2 section 312(b)(1)(C)). 

3 (2) RULES FOR APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS

4 APPOINTED BY FIRST MEMBERS.— 

5 (A) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE OF AT LEAST 4

6 MEMBERS.—The appointment of any of the 9 

7 members of the independent redistricting com8 mission who are appointed by the first members 

9 of the commission pursuant to subparagraph 

10 (B) of paragraph (1), as well as the designation 

11 of alternates for such members pursuant to 

12 subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) and the ap13 pointment of alternates to fill vacancies pursu14 ant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4), shall 

15 require the affirmative vote of at least 4 of the 

16 members appointed by the nonpartisan agency 

17 under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), in18 cluding at least one member from each of the 

19 categories referred to in such subparagraph. 

20 (B) ENSURING DIVERSITY.—In appointing 

21 the 9 members pursuant to subparagraph (B) 

22 of paragraph (1), as well as in designating al23 ternates pursuant to subparagraph (B) of para24 graph (3) and in appointing alternates to fill 

25 vacancies pursuant to subparagraph (B) of 


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1 paragraph (4), the first members of the inde2 pendent redistricting commission shall ensure 

3 that the membership is representative of the de4 mographic groups (including racial, ethnic, eco5 nomic, and gender) and geographic regions of 

6 the State, and provides racial, ethnic, and lan7 guage minorities protected under the Voting 

8 Rights Act of 1965 with a meaningful oppor9 tunity to participate in the development of the 

10 State’s redistricting plan. 

11 (3) DESIGNATION OF ALTERNATES TO SERVE

12 IN CASE OF VACANCIES.— 

13 (A) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY AGENCY.— 

14 At the time the agency appoints the members 

15 of the independent redistricting commission 

16 under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) from 

17 each of the categories referred to in such sub18 paragraph, the agency shall, on a random basis, 

19 designate 2 other individuals from such cat20 egory to serve as alternate members who may 

21 be appointed to fill vacancies in the commission 

22 in accordance with paragraph (4). 

23 (B) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY FIRST MEM24 BERS.—At the time the members appointed by 

25 the agency appoint the other members of the 


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1 independent redistricting commission under 

2 subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) from each 

3 of the categories referred to in such subpara4 graph, the members shall, in accordance with 

5 the special rules described in paragraph (2), 

6 designate 2 other individuals from such cat7 egory to serve as alternate members who may 

8 be appointed to fill vacancies in the commission 

9 in accordance with paragraph (4). 

10 (4) APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES TO SERVE

11 IN CASE OF VACANCIES.— 

12 (A) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY AGENCY.—If 

13 a vacancy occurs in the commission with respect 

14 to a member who was appointed by the non15 partisan agency under subparagraph (A) of 

16 paragraph (1) from one of the categories re17 ferred to in such subparagraph, the agency 

18 shall fill the vacancy by appointing, on a ran19 dom basis, one of the 2 alternates from such 

20 category who was designated under subpara21 graph (A) of paragraph (3). At the time the 

22 agency appoints an alternate to fill a vacancy 

23 under the previous sentence, the agency shall 

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1 ternate member, in accordance with subpara2 graph (A) of paragraph (3). 

3 (B) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY FIRST MEM4 BERS.—If a vacancy occurs in the commission 

5 with respect to a member who was appointed by 

6 the first members of the commission under sub7 paragraph (B) of paragraph (1) from one of the 

8 categories referred to in such subparagraph, the 

9 first members shall, in accordance with the spe10 cial rules described in paragraph (2), fill the va11 cancy by appointing one of the 2 alternates 

12 from such category who was designated under 

13 subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3). At the time 

14 the first members appoint an alternate to fill a 

15 vacancy under the previous sentence, the first 

16 members shall, in accordance with the special 

17 rules described in paragraph (2), designate an18 other individual from the same category to 

19 serve as an alternate member, in accordance 

20 with subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3). 

21 (5) REMOVAL.—A member of the independent 

22 redistricting commission may be removed by a ma23 jority vote of the remaining members of the commis24 sion if it is shown by a preponderance of the eviVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4000.IH H4000

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1 dence that the member is not eligible to serve on the 

2 commission under section 312(a). 

3 (b) PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING COMMISSION

4 BUSINESS.— 

5 (1) CHAIR.—Members of an independent redis6 tricting commission established under this section 

7 shall select by majority vote one member who was 

8 appointed from the independent category of the ap9 proved selection pool described in section 

10 312(b)(1)(C) to serve as chair of the commission. 

11 The commission may not take any action to develop 

12 a redistricting plan for the State under section 313 

13 until the appointment of the commission’s chair. 

14 (2) REQUIRING MAJORITY APPROVAL FOR AC15 TIONS.—The independent redistricting commission 

16 of a State may not publish and disseminate any 

17 draft or final redistricting plan, or take any other 

18 action, without the approval of at least— 

19 (A) a majority of the whole membership of 

20 the commission; and 

21 (B) at least one member of the commission 

22 appointed from each of the categories of the ap23 proved selection pool described in section 

24 312(b)(1). 


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1 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

2 the commission shall constitute a quorum. 

3 (c) STAFF; CONTRACTORS.— 

4 (1) STAFF.—Under a public application process 

5 in which all application materials are available for 

6 public inspection, the independent redistricting com7 mission of a State shall appoint and set the pay of 

8 technical experts, legal counsel, consultants, and 

9 such other staff as it considers appropriate, subject 

10 to State law. 

11 (2) CONTRACTORS.—The independent redis12 tricting commission of a State may enter into such 

13 contracts with vendors as it considers appropriate, 

14 subject to State law, except that any such contract 

15 shall be valid only if approved by the vote of a ma16 jority of the members of the commission, including 

17 at least one member appointed from each of the cat18 egories of the approved selection pool described in 

19 section 312(b)(1). 

20 (3) REPORTS ON EXPENDITURES FOR POLIT21 ICAL ACTIVITY.— 

22 (A) REPORT BY APPLICANTS.—Each indi23 vidual who applies for a position as an employee 

24 of the independent redistricting commission and 

25 each vendor who applies for a contract with the 


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1 commission shall, at the time of applying, file 

2 with the commission a report summarizing— 

3 (i) any expenditure for political activ4 ity made by such individual or vendor dur5 ing the 10 most recent calendar years; and 

6 (ii) any income received by such indi7 vidual or vendor during the 10 most recent 

8 calendar years which is attributable to an 

9 expenditure for political activity. 

10 (B) ANNUAL REPORTS BY EMPLOYEES

11 AND VENDORS.—Each person who is an em12 ployee or vendor of the independent redis13 tricting commission shall, not later than one 

14 year after the person is appointed as an em15 ployee or enters into a contract as a vendor (as 

16 the case may be) and annually thereafter for 

17 each year during which the person serves as an 

18 employee or a vendor, file with the commission 

19 a report summarizing the expenditures and in20 come described in subparagraph (A) during the 

21 10 most recent calendar years. 

22 (C) EXPENDITURE FOR POLITICAL ACTIV23 ITY DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term 

24 ‘‘expenditure for political activity’’ means a dis25 bursement for any of the following: 


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1 (i) An independent expenditure, as de2 fined in section 301(17) of the Federal 

3 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

4 30101(17)). 

5 (ii) An electioneering communication, 

6 as defined in section 304(f)(3) of such Act 

7 (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)) or any other pub8 lic communication, as defined in section 

9 301(22) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

10 30101(22)) that would be an electioneering 

11 communication if it were a broadcast, 

12 cable, or satellite communication. 

13 (iii) Any dues or other payments to 

14 trade associations or organizations de15 scribed in section 501(c) of the Internal 

16 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 

17 tax under section 501(a) of such Code that 

18 are, or could reasonably be anticipated to 

19 be, used or transferred to another associa20 tion or organization for a use described in 

21 paragraph (1), (2), or (4) of section 501(c) 

22 of such Code. 

23 (4) GOAL OF IMPARTIALITY.—The commission 

24 shall take such steps as it considers appropriate to 

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1 section, and any vendor with whom the commission 

2 enters into a contract under this subsection, will 

3 work in an impartial manner, and may require any 

4 person who applies for an appointment to a staff po5 sition or for a vendor’s contract with the commission 

6 to provide information on the person’s history of po7 litical activity beyond the information on the per8 son’s expenditures for political activity provided in 

9 the reports required under paragraph (3) (including 

10 donations to candidates, political committees, and 

11 political parties) as a condition of the appointment 

12 or the contract. 

13 (5) DISQUALIFICATION; WAIVER.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The independent redis15 tricting commission may not appoint an indi16 vidual as an employee, and may not enter into 

17 a contract with a vendor, if the individual or 

18 vendor meets any of the criteria for the dis19 qualification of an individual from serving as a 

20 member of the commission which are set forth 

21 in section 312(a)(2). 

22 (B) WAIVER.—The commission may by 

23 unanimous vote of its members waive the appli24 cation of subparagraph (A) to an individual or 

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1 port filed by the individual or vendor under 

2 paragraph (3). 

3 (d) TERMINATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The independent redis5 tricting commission of a State shall terminate on the 

6 earlier of— 

7 (A) June 14 of the next year ending in the 

8 numeral zero; or 

9 (B) the day on which the nonpartisan 

10 agency established or designated by a State 

11 under section 314(a) has, in accordance with 

12 section 312(b)(1), submitted a selection pool to 

13 the Select Committee on Redistricting for the 

14 State established under section 314(b). 

15 (2) PRESERVATION OF RECORDS.—The State 

16 shall ensure that the records of the independent re17 districting commission are retained in the appro18 priate State archive in such manner as may be nec19 essary to enable the State to respond to any civil ac20 tion brought with respect to congressional redis21 tricting in the State. 

22 SEC. 312. ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECTION POOL OF INDI23 VIDUALS ELIGIBLE TO SERVE AS MEMBERS 

24 OF COMMISSION. 

25 (a) CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual is eligible to 

2 serve as a member of an independent redistricting 

3 commission if the individual meets each of the fol4 lowing criteria: 

5 (A) As of the date of appointment, the in6 dividual is registered to vote in elections for 

7 Federal office held in the State. 

8 (B) During the 3-year period ending on 

9 the date of the individual’s appointment, the in10 dividual has been continuously registered to 

11 vote with the same political party, or has not 

12 been registered to vote with any political party. 

13 (C) The individual submits to the non14 partisan agency established or designated by a 

15 State under section 313, at such time and in 

16 such form as the agency may require, an appli17 cation for inclusion in the selection pool under 

18 this section, and includes with the application a 

19 written statement, with an attestation under 

20 penalty of perjury, containing the following in21 formation and assurances: 

22 (i) The full current name and any 

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1 dividual’s residence, mailing address, and 

2 telephone numbers. 

3 (ii) The individual’s race, ethnicity, 

4 gender, age, date of birth, and household 

5 income for the most recent taxable year. 

6 (iii) The political party with which the 

7 individual is affiliated, if any. 

8 (iv) The reason or reasons the indi9 vidual desires to serve on the independent 

10 redistricting commission, the individual’s 

11 qualifications, and information relevant to 

12 the ability of the individual to be fair and 

13 impartial, including, but not limited to— 

14 (I) any involvement with, or fi15 nancial support of, professional, so16 cial, political, religious, or community 

17 organizations or causes; and 

18 (II) the individual’s employment 

19 and educational history. 

20 (v) An assurance that the individual 

21 shall commit to carrying out the individ22 ual’s duties under this Act in an honest, 

23 independent, and impartial fashion, and to 

24 upholding public confidence in the integrity 

25 of the redistricting process. 


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1 (vi) An assurance that, during the 

2 covered periods described in paragraph (3), 

3 the individual has not taken and will not 

4 take any action which would disqualify the 

5 individual from serving as a member of the 

6 commission under paragraph (2). 

7 (2) DISQUALIFICATIONS.—An individual is not 

8 eligible to serve as a member of the commission if 

9 any of the following applies during any of the cov10 ered periods described in paragraph (3): 

11 (A) The individual or (in the case of the 

12 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

13 and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 

14 member of the individual holds public office or 

15 is a candidate for election for public office. 

16 (B) The individual or (in the case of the 

17 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

18 and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 

19 member of the individual serves as an officer of 

20 a political party or as an officer, employee, or 

21 paid consultant of a campaign committee of a 

22 candidate for public office or of any political ac23 tion committee (as determined in accordance 

24 with the law of the State). 


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1 (C) The individual or (in the case of the 

2 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

3 and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 

4 member of the individual holds a position as a 

5 registered lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclo6 sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) or an 

7 equivalent State or local law. 

8 (D) The individual or (in the case of the 

9 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

10 and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 

11 member of the individual is an employee of an 

12 elected public official, a contractor with the gov13 ernment of the State, or a donor to the cam14 paign of any candidate for public office or to 

15 any political action committee (other than a 

16 donor who, during any of such covered periods, 

17 gives an aggregate amount of $1,000 or less to 

18 the campaigns of all candidates for all public 

19 offices and to all political action committees). 

20 (E) The individual or (in the case of the 

21 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

22 and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 

23 member of the individual paid a civil money 

24 penalty or criminal fine, or was sentenced to a 

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1 sion of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

2 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.). 

3 (F) The individual or (in the case of the 

4 covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 

5 and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 

6 member of the individual is an agent of a for7 eign principal under the Foreign Agents Reg8 istration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 

9 611 et seq.). 

10 (3) COVERED PERIODS DESCRIBED.—In this 

11 subsection, the term ‘‘covered period’’ means, with 

12 respect to the appointment of an individual to the 

13 commission, any of the following: 

14 (A) The 10-year period ending on the date 

15 of the individual’s appointment. 

16 (B) The period beginning on the date of 

17 the individual’s appointment and ending on Au18 gust 14 of the next year ending in the numeral 

19 one. 

20 (C) The 10-year period beginning on the 

21 day after the last day of the period described in 

22 subparagraph (B). 

23 (4) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED.—In 

24 this subsection, the term ‘‘immediate family mem25 ber’’ means, with respect to an individual, a father, 


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1 stepfather, mother, stepmother, son, stepson, daugh2 ter, stepdaughter, brother, stepbrother, sister, step3 sister, husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in4 law. 

5 (b) DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION OF SELECTION

6 POOL.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 15 of 

8 each year ending in the numeral zero, the non9 partisan agency established or designated by a State 

10 under section 314(a) shall develop and submit to the 

11 Select Committee on Redistricting for the State es12 tablished under section 314(b) a selection pool of 36 

13 individuals who are eligible to serve as members of 

14 the independent redistricting commission of the 

15 State under this Act, consisting of individuals in the 

16 following categories: 

17 (A) A majority category, consisting of 12 

18 individuals who are affiliated with the political 

19 party whose candidate received the most votes 

20 in the most recent statewide election for Fed21 eral office held in the State. 

22 (B) A minority category, consisting of 12 

23 individuals who are affiliated with the political 

24 party whose candidate received the second most 


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1 votes in the most recent statewide election for 

2 Federal office held in the State. 

3 (C) An independent category, consisting of 

4 12 individuals who are not affiliated with either 

5 of the political parties described in subpara6 graph (A) or subparagraph (B). 

7 (2) FACTORS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN DEVEL8 OPING POOL.—In selecting individuals for the selec9 tion pool under this subsection, the nonpartisan 

10 agency shall— 

11 (A) ensure that the pool is representative 

12 of the demographic groups (including racial, 

13 ethnic, economic, and gender) and geographic 

14 regions of the State, and includes applicants 

15 who would allow racial, ethnic, and language 

16 minorities protected under the Voting Rights 

17 Act of 1965 a meaningful opportunity to par18 ticipate in the development of the State’s redis19 tricting plan; and 

20 (B) take into consideration the analytical 

21 skills of the individuals selected in relevant 

22 fields (including mapping, data management, 

23 law, community outreach, demography, and the 

24 geography of the State) and their ability to 

25 work on an impartial basis. 


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1 (3) INTERVIEWS OF APPLICANTS.—To assist 

2 the nonpartisan agency in developing the selection 

3 pool under this subsection, the nonpartisan agency 

4 shall conduct interviews of applicants under oath. If 

5 an individual is included in a selection pool devel6 oped under this section, all of the interviews of the 

7 individual shall be transcribed and the transcriptions 

8 made available on the nonpartisan agency’s website 

9 contemporaneously with release of the report under 

10 paragraph (6). 

11 (4) DETERMINATION OF POLITICAL PARTY AF12 FILIATION OF INDIVIDUALS IN SELECTION POOL.— 

13 For purposes of this section, an individual shall be 

14 considered to be affiliated with a political party only 

15 if the nonpartisan agency is able to verify (to the 

16 greatest extent possible) the information the indi17 vidual provides in the application submitted under 

18 subsection (a)(1)(D), including by considering addi19 tional information provided by other persons with 

20 knowledge of the individual’s history of political ac21 tivity. 

22 (5) ENCOURAGING RESIDENTS TO APPLY FOR

23 INCLUSION IN POOL.—The nonpartisan agency shall 

24 take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that 

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1 gions and demographic groups are aware of the op2 portunity to serve on the independent redistricting 

3 commission, including publicizing the role of the 

4 panel and using newspapers, broadcast media, and 

5 online sources, including ethnic media, to encourage 

6 individuals to apply for inclusion in the selection 

7 pool developed under this subsection. 

8 (6) REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF SELEC9 TION POOL.—At the time the nonpartisan agency 

10 submits the selection pool to the Select Committee 

11 on Redistricting under paragraph (1), it shall pub12 lish and post on the agency’s public website a report 

13 describing the process by which the pool was devel14 oped, and shall include in the report a description of 

15 how the individuals in the pool meet the eligibility 

16 criteria of subsection (a) and of how the pool reflects 

17 the factors the agency is required to take into con18 sideration under paragraph (2). 

19 (7) PUBLIC COMMENT ON SELECTION POOL.— 

20 During the 14-day period which begins on the date 

21 the nonpartisan agency publishes the report under 

22 paragraph (6), the agency shall accept comments 

23 from the public on the individuals included in the se24 lection pool. The agency shall post all such com25 ments contemporaneously on the nonpartisan agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4000.IH H4000

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1 cy’s website and shall transmit them to the Select 

2 Committee on Redistricting immediately upon the 

3 expiration of such period. 

4 (8) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than 15 

6 days and not later than 21 days after receiving 

7 the selection pool from the nonpartisan agency 

8 under paragraph (1), the Select Committee on 

9 Redistricting shall— 

10 (i) approve the pool as submitted by 

11 the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 

12 pool shall be considered the approved selec13 tion pool for purposes of section 311(a)(1); 

14 or 

15 (ii) reject the pool, in which case the 

16 nonpartisan agency shall develop and sub17 mit a replacement selection pool in accord18 ance with subsection (c). 

19 (B) INACTION DEEMED REJECTION.—If 

20 the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 

21 approve or reject the pool within the deadline 

22 set forth in subparagraph (A), the Select Com23 mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 

24 for purposes of such subparagraph. 


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1 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF REPLACEMENT SELECTION

2 POOL.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Select Committee on 

4 Redistricting rejects the selection pool submitted by 

5 the nonpartisan agency under subsection (b), not 

6 later than 14 days after the rejection, the non7 partisan agency shall develop and submit to the Se8 lect Committee a replacement selection pool, under 

9 the same terms and conditions that applied to the 

10 development and submission of the selection pool 

11 under paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection (b). 

12 The replacement pool submitted under this para13 graph may include individuals who were included in 

14 the rejected selection pool submitted under sub15 section (b), so long as at least one of the individuals 

16 in the replacement pool was not included in such re17 jected pool. 

18 (2) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 21 days 

20 after receiving the replacement selection pool 

21 from the nonpartisan agency under paragraph 

22 (1), the Select Committee on Redistricting 

23 shall— 

24 (i) approve the pool as submitted by 

25 the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 


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1 pool shall be considered the approved selec2 tion pool for purposes of section 311(a)(1); 

3 or 

4 (ii) reject the pool, in which case the 

5 nonpartisan agency shall develop and sub6 mit a second replacement selection pool in 

7 accordance with subsection (d). 

8 (B) INACTION DEEMED REJECTION.—If 

9 the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 

10 approve or reject the pool within the deadline 

11 set forth in subparagraph (A), the Select Com12 mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 

13 for purposes of such subparagraph. 

14 (d) DEVELOPMENT OF SECOND REPLACEMENT SE15 LECTION POOL.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Select Committee on 

17 Redistricting rejects the replacement selection pool 

18 submitted by the nonpartisan agency under sub19 section (c), not later than 14 days after the rejec20 tion, the nonpartisan agency shall develop and sub21 mit to the Select Committee a second replacement 

22 selection pool, under the same terms and conditions 

23 that applied to the development and submission of 

24 the selection pool under paragraphs (1) through (7) 

25 of subsection (b). The second replacement selection 


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1 pool submitted under this paragraph may include in2 dividuals who were included in the rejected selection 

3 pool submitted under subsection (b) or the rejected 

4 replacement selection pool submitted under sub5 section (c), so long as at least one of the individuals 

6 in the replacement pool was not included in either 

7 such rejected pool. 

8 (2) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than 15 

10 days and not later than 14 days after receiving 

11 the second replacement selection pool from the 

12 nonpartisan agency under paragraph (1), the 

13 Select Committee on Redistricting shall— 

14 (i) approve the pool as submitted by 

15 the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 

16 pool shall be considered the approved selec17 tion pool for purposes of section 311(a)(1); 

18 or 

19 (ii) reject the pool. 

20 (B) INACTION DEEMED REJECTION.—If 

21 the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 

22 approve or reject the pool within the deadline 

23 set forth in subparagraph (A), the Select Com24 mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 

25 for purposes of such subparagraph. 


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1 (C) EFFECT OF REJECTION.—If the Select 

2 Committee on Redistricting rejects the second 

3 replacement pool from the nonpartisan agency 

4 under paragraph (1), the redistricting plan for 

5 the State shall be developed and enacted in ac6 cordance with subtitle C. 

7 SEC. 313. CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING PLAN BY INDE8 PENDENT COMMISSION; PUBLIC NOTICE AND 

9 INPUT. 

10 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLAN.— 

11 (1) CRITERIA.—In addition to the criteria set 

12 forth in section 311(b), the independent redistricting 

13 commission of a State shall develop a redistricting 

14 plan for the State in accordance with the following 

15 criteria, prioritized according to the following order: 

16 (A) Districts shall comply with the United 

17 States Constitution, including the requirement 

18 that they equalize total population per Rep19 resentative elected. 

20 (B) Districts shall be established in a man21 ner consistent with the Voting Rights Act of 

22 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) and all applica23 ble Federal laws. 

24 (C) Districts shall provide racial, ethnic, 

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1 tunity to participate in the political process and 

2 to elect candidates of choice and shall not dilute 

3 or diminish their ability to elect candidates of 

4 choice whether alone or in coalition with others. 

5 (D) To the extent practicable, districts 

6 shall reflect the diversity of political opinion in 

7 the State such that no district in the State— 

8 (i) elects exactly 3 Representatives 

9 and the nominee of one political party for 

10 President received at least 75 percent of 

11 the votes cast in the geographic area cov12 ered by the district in 2 of the 3 most re13 cent Presidential elections; 

14 (ii) elects exactly 4 Representatives 

15 and the nominee of one political party for 

16 President received at least 80 percent of 

17 the votes cast in the geographic area cov18 ered by the district in 2 of the 3 most re19 cent Presidential elections; or 

20 (iii) elects exactly 5 Representatives 

21 and the nominee of one political party for 

22 President received at least 83 percent of 

23 the votes cast in the geographic area cov24 ered by the district in 2 of the 3 most re25 cent Presidential elections. 


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1 (E) To the greatest extent practicable the 

2 State shall minimize the number of districts 

3 electing 4 Representatives. 

4 (F) To the greatest extent practicable the 

5 State shall maximize the number of districts 

6 electing 5 Representatives. 

7 (G) To the extent practicable, districts 

8 shall minimize the division of any community of 

9 interest, municipality, county, or neighborhood. 

10 In this subparagraph, the term ‘‘community of 

11 interest’’ means an area with recognized simi12 larities of interests, including but not limited to 

13 ethnic, economic, social, cultural, geographic, or 

14 historic identities. Such term may, in cir15 cumstances, include political subdivisions such 

16 as counties, municipalities, or school districts, 

17 but shall not include common relationships with 

18 political parties, officeholders, or political can19 didates. 

20 (2) NO FAVORING OR DISFAVORING OF POLIT21 ICAL PARTIES.—The redistricting plan developed by 

22 the independent redistricting commission shall not, 

23 when considered on a statewide basis, unduly favor 

24 or disfavor any political party. 


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1 (3) PROHIBITING CONSIDERATION OF RESI2 DENCE OF MEMBER OR OTHER CANDIDATE.—In de3 veloping the redistricting plan for the State, the 

4 independent redistricting commission may not take 

5 into consideration the residence of any Member of 

6 the House of Representatives or candidate. 

7 (b) PUBLIC NOTICE AND INPUT.— 

8 (1) USE OF OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROC9 ESS.—The independent redistricting commission of a 

10 State shall hold each of its meetings in public, shall 

11 solicit and take into consideration comments from 

12 the public, including proposed maps, throughout the 

13 process of developing the redistricting plan for the 

14 State, and shall carry out its duties in an open and 

15 transparent manner which provides for the widest 

16 public dissemination reasonably possible of its pro17 posed and final redistricting plans. 

18 (2) WEBSITE.— 

19 (A) FEATURES.—The commission shall 

20 maintain a public internet site which is not af21 filiated with or maintained by the office of any 

22 elected official and which includes the following 

23 features: 

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1 ess, and its members, including contact in2 formation. 

3 (ii) An updated schedule of commis4 sion hearings and activities, including 

5 deadlines for the submission of comments. 

6 (iii) All draft redistricting plans devel7 oped by the commission under subsection 

8 (c) and the final redistricting plan devel9 oped under subsection (d), including the 

10 accompanying written evaluation under 

11 subsection (e). 

12 (iv) All comments received from the 

13 public on the commission’s activities, in14 cluding any proposed maps submitted 

15 under paragraph (1). 

16 (v) Live streaming of commission 

17 hearings and an archive of previous meet18 ings, including any documents considered 

19 at any such meeting, which the commission 

20 shall post not later than 24 hours after the 

21 conclusion of the meeting. 

22 (vi) Access in an easily useable format 

23 to the demographic and other data used by 

24 the commission to develop and analyze the 

25 proposed redistricting plans, together with 


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1 access to any software used to draw maps 

2 of proposed districts and to any reports 

3 analyzing and evaluating any such maps. 

4 (vii) A method by which members of 

5 the public may submit comments and pro6 posed maps directly to the commission. 

7 (viii) All records of the commission, 

8 including all communications to or from 

9 members, employees, and contractors re10 garding the work of the commission. 

11 (ix) A list of all contractors receiving 

12 payment from the commission, together 

13 with the annual disclosures submitted by 

14 the contractors under section 311(c)(3). 

15 (x) A list of the names of all individ16 uals who submitted applications to serve 

17 on the commission, together with the appli18 cations submitted by individuals included 

19 in any selection pool, except that the com20 mission may redact from such applications 

21 any financial or other personally sensitive 

22 information. 

23 (B) SEARCHABLE FORMAT.—The commis24 sion shall ensure that all information posted 

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1 graph, including information and proposed 

2 maps submitted by the public, shall be main3 tained in an easily searchable format. 

4 (C) DEADLINE.—The commission shall en5 sure that the public internet site under this 

6 paragraph is operational (in at least a prelimi7 nary format) not later than January 1 of the 

8 year ending in the numeral one. 

9 (3) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—The commis10 sion shall solicit, accept, and consider comments 

11 from the public with respect to its duties, activities, 

12 and procedures at any time during the period— 

13 (A) which begins on January 1 of the year 

14 ending in the numeral one; and 

15 (B) which ends 7 days before the date of 

16 the meeting at which the commission shall vote 

17 on approving the final redistricting plan for en18 actment into law under subsection (d)(2). 

19 (4) MEETINGS AND HEARINGS IN VARIOUS GEO20 GRAPHIC LOCATIONS.—To the greatest extent prac21 ticable, the commission shall hold its meetings and 

22 hearings in various geographic regions and locations 

23 throughout the State. 

24 (5) MULTIPLE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR

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1 tice which is required to be posted and published 

2 under this section available in any language in which 

3 the State (or any jurisdiction in the State) is re4 quired to provide election materials under section 

5 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

6 (c) DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF PRELIMI7 NARY REDISTRICTING PLAN.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to developing and pub9 lishing a final redistricting plan under subsection 

10 (d), the independent redistricting commission of a 

11 State shall develop and publish a preliminary redis12 tricting plan. 

13 (2) MINIMUM PUBLIC HEARINGS AND OPPOR14 TUNITY FOR COMMENT PRIOR TO DEVELOPMENT.— 

15 (A) 3 HEARINGS REQUIRED.—Prior to de16 veloping a preliminary redistricting plan under 

17 this subsection, the commission shall hold not 

18 fewer than 3 public hearings at which members 

19 of the public may provide input and comments 

20 regarding the potential contents of redistricting 

21 plans for the State and the process by which 

22 the commission will develop the preliminary 

23 plan under this subsection. 

24 (B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR

25 TO HEARINGS.—Not fewer than 14 days prior 


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1 to the date of each hearing held under this 

2 paragraph, the commission shall post notices of 

3 the hearing in on the website maintained under 

4 subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the pub5 lication of such notices in newspapers of general 

6 circulation throughout the State. Each such no7 tice shall specify the date, time, and location of 

8 the hearing. 

9 (C) SUBMISSION OF PLANS AND MAPS BY

10 MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.—Any member of 

11 the public may submit maps or portions of 

12 maps for consideration by the commission. As 

13 provided under subsection (b)(2)(A), any such 

14 map shall be made publicly available on the 

15 commission’s website and open to comment. 

16 (3) PUBLICATION OF PRELIMINARY PLAN.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The commission shall 

18 post the preliminary redistricting plan devel19 oped under this subsection, together with a re20 port that includes the commission’s responses 

21 to any public comments received under sub22 section (b)(3), on the website maintained under 

23 subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the pub24 lication of each such plan in newspapers of gen25 eral circulation throughout the State. 


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1 (B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR

2 TO PUBLICATION.—Not fewer than 14 days 

3 prior to the date on which the commission posts 

4 and publishes the preliminary plan under this 

5 paragraph, the commission shall notify the pub6 lic through the website maintained under sub7 section (b)(2), as well as through publication of 

8 notice in newspapers of general circulation 

9 throughout the State, of the pending publica10 tion of the plan. 

11 (4) MINIMUM POST-PUBLICATION PERIOD FOR

12 PUBLIC COMMENT.—The commission shall accept 

13 and consider comments from the public (including 

14 through the website maintained under subsection 

15 (b)(2)) with respect to the preliminary redistricting 

16 plan published under paragraph (3), including pro17 posed revisions to maps, for not fewer than 30 days 

18 after the date on which the plan is published. 

19 (5) POST-PUBLICATION HEARINGS.— 

20 (A) 3 HEARINGS REQUIRED.—After post21 ing and publishing the preliminary redistricting 

22 plan under paragraph (3), the commission shall 

23 hold not fewer than 3 public hearings in dif24 ferent geographic areas of the State at which 


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1 members of the public may provide input and 

2 comments regarding the preliminary plan. 

3 (B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR

4 TO HEARINGS.—Not fewer than 14 days prior 

5 to the date of each hearing held under this 

6 paragraph, the commission shall post notices of 

7 the hearing in on the website maintained under 

8 subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the pub9 lication of such notices in newspapers of general 

10 circulation throughout the State. Each such no11 tice shall specify the date, time, and location of 

12 the hearing. 

13 (6) PERMITTING MULTIPLE PRELIMINARY

14 PLANS.—At the option of the commission, after de15 veloping and publishing the preliminary redistricting 

16 plan under this subsection, the commission may de17 velop and publish subsequent preliminary redis18 tricting plans, so long as the process for the develop19 ment and publication of each such subsequent plan 

20 meets the requirements set forth in this subsection 

21 for the development and publication of the first pre22 liminary redistricting plan. 

23 (d) PROCESS FOR ENACTMENT OF FINAL REDIS24 TRICTING PLAN.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—After taking into consider2 ation comments from the public on any preliminary 

3 redistricting plan developed and published under 

4 subsection (c), the independent redistricting commis5 sion of a State shall develop and publish a final re6 districting plan for the State. 

7 (2) MEETING; FINAL VOTE.—Not later than the 

8 deadline specified in subsection (h), the commission 

9 shall hold a public hearing at which the members of 

10 the commission shall vote on approving the final 

11 plan for enactment into law. 

12 (3) PUBLICATION OF PLAN AND ACCOMPANYING

13 MATERIALS.—Not fewer than 14 days before the 

14 date of the meeting under paragraph (2), the com15 mission shall provide the following information to 

16 the public through the website maintained under 

17 subsection (b)(2), as well as through newspapers of 

18 general circulation throughout the State: 

19 (A) The final redistricting plan, including 

20 all relevant maps. 

21 (B) A report by the commission to accom22 pany the plan which provides the background 

23 for the plan and the commission’s reasons for 

24 selecting the plan as the final redistricting plan, 

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1 ceived on any preliminary redistricting plan de2 veloped and published under subsection (c). 

3 (C) Any dissenting or additional views with 

4 respect to the plan of individual members of the 

5 commission. 

6 (4) ENACTMENT.—The final redistricting plan 

7 developed and published under this subsection shall 

8 be deemed to be enacted into law if— 

9 (A) the plan is approved by a majority of 

10 the whole membership of the commission; and 

11 (B) at least one member of the commission 

12 appointed from each of the categories of the ap13 proved selection pool described in section 

14 312(b)(1) approves the plan. 

15 (e) WRITTEN EVALUATION OF PLAN AGAINST EX16 TERNAL METRICS.—The independent redistricting com17 mission shall include with each redistricting plan devel18 oped and published under this section a written evaluation 

19 that measures each such plan against external metrics 

20 which cover the criteria set forth in paragraph (1) of sub21 section (a), including the impact of the plan on the ability 

22 of communities of color to elect candidates of choice, 

23 measures of partisan fairness using multiple accepted 

24 methodologies, and the degree to which the plan preserves 

25 or divides communities of interest. 


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1 (f) TIMING.—The independent redistricting commis2 sion of a State may begin its work on the redistricting 

3 plan of the State upon receipt of relevant population infor4 mation from the Bureau of the Census, and shall approve 

5 a final redistricting plan for the State in each year ending 

6 in the numeral one not later than 8 months after the date 

7 on which the State receives the State apportionment notice 

8 or October 1, whichever occurs later. 

9 SEC. 314. ESTABLISHMENT OF RELATED ENTITIES. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OR DESIGNATION OF NON11 PARTISAN AGENCY OF STATE LEGISLATURE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall establish a 

13 nonpartisan agency in the legislative branch of the 

14 State government to appoint the members of the 

15 independent redistricting commission for the State 

16 in accordance with section 311. 

17 (2) NONPARTISANSHIP DESCRIBED.—For pur18 poses of this subsection, an agency shall be consid19 ered to be nonpartisan if under law the agency— 

20 (A) is required to provide services on a 

21 nonpartisan basis; 

22 (B) is required to maintain impartiality; 

23 and 

24 (C) is prohibited from advocating for the 

25 adoption or rejection of any legislative proposal. 


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1 (3) TRAINING OF MEMBERS APPOINTED TO

2 COMMISSION.—Not later than January 15 of a year 

3 ending in the numeral one, the nonpartisan agency 

4 established or designated under this subsection shall 

5 provide the members of the independent redistricting 

6 commission with initial training on their obligations 

7 as members of the commission, including obligations 

8 under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other ap9 plicable laws. 

10 (4) REGULATIONS.—The nonpartisan agency 

11 established or designated under this subsection shall 

12 adopt and publish regulations, after notice and op13 portunity for comment, establishing the procedures 

14 that the agency will follow in fulfilling its duties 

15 under this Act, including the procedures to be used 

16 in vetting the qualifications and political affiliation 

17 of applicants and in creating the selection pools, the 

18 randomized process to be used in selecting the initial 

19 members of the independent redistricting commis20 sion, and the rules that the agency will apply to en21 sure that the agency carries out its duties under this 

22 Act in a maximally transparent, publicly accessible, 

23 and impartial manner. 

24 (5) DESIGNATION OF EXISTING AGENCY.—At 

25 its option, a State may designate an existing agency 


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1 in the legislative branch of its government to appoint 

2 the members of the independent redistricting com3 mission plan for the State under this Act, so long 

4 as the agency meets the requirements for non5 partisanship under this subsection. 

6 (6) TERMINATION OF AGENCY SPECIFICALLY

7 ESTABLISHED FOR REDISTRICTING.—If a State does 

8 not designate an existing agency under paragraph 

9 (5) but instead establishes a new agency to serve as 

10 the nonpartisan agency under this section, the new 

11 agency shall terminate upon the enactment into law 

12 of the redistricting plan for the State. 

13 (7) PRESERVATION OF RECORDS.—The State 

14 shall ensure that the records of the nonpartisan 

15 agency are retained in the appropriate State archive 

16 in such manner as may be necessary to enable the 

17 State to respond to any civil action brought with re18 spect to congressional redistricting in the State. 

19 (8) DEADLINE.—The State shall meet the re20 quirements of this subsection not later than each 

21 October 15 of a year ending in the numeral nine. 

22 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON RE23 DISTRICTING.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall appoint a 

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1 approve a selection pool developed by the inde2 pendent redistricting commission for the State under 

3 section 312. 

4 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The Select Committee on 

5 Redistricting for a State under this subsection shall 

6 consist of the following members: 

7 (A) One member of the upper house of the 

8 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 

9 leader of the party with the greatest number of 

10 seats in the upper house. 

11 (B) One member of the upper house of the 

12 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 

13 leader of the party with the second greatest 

14 number of seats in the upper house. 

15 (C) One member of the lower house of the 

16 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 

17 leader of the party with the greatest number of 

18 seats in the lower house. 

19 (D) One member of the lower house of the 

20 State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 

21 leader of the party with the second greatest 

22 number of seats in the lower house. 

23 (3) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH UNICAM24 ERAL LEGISLATURE.—In the case of a State with a 

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1 districting for the State under this subsection shall 

2 consist of the following members: 

3 (A) Two members of the State legislature 

4 appointed by the chair of the political party of 

5 the State whose candidate received the highest 

6 percentage of votes in the most recent statewide 

7 election for Federal office held in the State. 

8 (B) Two members of the State legislature 

9 appointed by the chair of the political party 

10 whose candidate received the second highest 

11 percentage of votes in the most recent statewide 

12 election for Federal office held in the State. 

13 (4) DEADLINE.—The State shall meet the re14 quirements of this subsection not later than each 

15 January 15 of a year ending in the numeral zero. 

16 SEC. 315. REPORT ON DIVERSITY OF MEMBERSHIPS OF 

17 INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMIS18 SIONS. 

19 Not later than May 15 of a year ending in the nu20 meral one, the Comptroller General of the United States 

21 shall submit to Congress a report on the extent to which 

22 the memberships of independent redistricting commissions 

23 for States established under this subtitle with respect to 

24 the immediately preceding year ending in the numeral zero 


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1 meet the diversity requirements as provided for in sections 

2 311(a)(2)(B) and 312(b)(2). 

3 Subtitle C—Role of Courts in 

4 Development of Redistricting Plans 

5 SEC. 321. ENACTMENT OF PLAN DEVELOPED BY 3-JUDGE 

6 COURT. 

7 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—If any of the trig8 gering events described in subsection (f) occur with re9 spect to a State— 

10 (1) not later than December 15 of the year in 

11 which the triggering event occurs, the United States 

12 district court for the applicable venue, acting 

13 through a 3-judge Court convened pursuant to sec14 tion 2284 of title 28, United States Code, shall de15 velop and publish the congressional redistricting 

16 plan for the State; and 

17 (2) the final plan developed and published by 

18 the Court under this section shall be deemed to be 

19 enacted on the date on which the Court publishes 

20 the final plan, as described in subsection (d). 

21 (b) APPLICABLE VENUE DESCRIBED.—For purposes 

22 of this section, the ‘‘applicable venue’’ with respect to a 

23 State is the District of Columbia or the judicial district 

24 in which the capital of the State is located, as selected 

25 by the first party to file with the court sufficient evidence 


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1 of the occurrence of a triggering event described in sub2 section (f). 

3 (c) PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 

4 (1) CRITERIA.—In developing a redistricting 

5 plan for a State under this section, the Court shall 

6 adhere to the same terms and conditions that ap7 plied (or that would have applied, as the case may 

8 be) to the development of a plan by the independent 

9 redistricting commission of the State under section 

10 313(a). 

11 (2) ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND RECORDS OF

12 COMMISSION.—The Court shall have access to any 

13 information, data, software, or other records and 

14 material that was used (or that would have been 

15 used, as the case may be) by the independent redis16 tricting commission of the State in carrying out its 

17 duties under this Act. 

18 (3) HEARING; PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—In de19 veloping a redistricting plan for a State, the Court 

20 shall— 

21 (A) hold one or more evidentiary hearings 

22 at which interested members of the public may 

23 appear and be heard and present testimony, in24 cluding expert testimony, in accordance with 

25 the rules of the Court; and 


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1 (B) consider other submissions and com2 ments by the public, including proposals for re3 districting plans to cover the entire State or 

4 any portion of the State. 

5 (4) USE OF SPECIAL MASTER.—To assist in the 

6 development and publication of a redistricting plan 

7 for a State under this section, the Court may ap8 point a special master to make recommendations to 

9 the Court on possible plans for the State. 

10 (d) PUBLICATION OF PLAN.— 

11 (1) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INITIAL PLAN.— 

12 Upon completing the development of one or more 

13 initial redistricting plans, the Court shall make the 

14 plans available to the public at no cost, and shall 

15 also make available the underlying data used by the 

16 Court to develop the plans and a written evaluation 

17 of the plans against external metrics (as described in 

18 section 313(e)). 

19 (2) PUBLICATION OF FINAL PLAN.—At any 

20 time after the expiration of the 14-day period which 

21 begins on the date the Court makes the plans avail22 able to the public under paragraph (1), and taking 

23 into consideration any submissions and comments by 

24 the public which are received during such period, the 


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1 Court shall develop and publish the final redis2 tricting plan for the State. 

3 (e) USE OF INTERIM PLAN.—In the event that the 

4 Court is not able to develop and publish a final redis5 tricting plan for the State with sufficient time for an up6 coming election to proceed, the Court may develop and 

7 publish an interim redistricting plan which shall serve as 

8 the redistricting plan for the State until the Court devel9 ops and publishes a final plan in accordance with this sec10 tion. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to limit 

11 or otherwise affect the authority or discretion of the Court 

12 to develop and publish the final redistricting plan, includ13 ing but not limited to the discretion to make any changes 

14 the Court deems necessary to an interim redistricting 

15 plan. 

16 (f) TRIGGERING EVENTS DESCRIBED.—The ‘‘trig17 gering events’’ described in this subsection are as follows: 

18 (1) The failure of the State to establish or des19 ignate a nonpartisan agency of the State legislature 

20 under section 314(a) prior to the expiration of the 

21 deadline set forth in section 314(a)(5). 

22 (2) The failure of the State to appoint a Select 

23 Committee on Redistricting under section 314(b) 

24 prior to the expiration of the deadline set forth in 

25 section 314(b)(4). 


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1 (3) The failure of the Select Committee on Re2 districting to approve any selection pool under sec3 tion 312 prior to the expiration of the deadline set 

4 forth for the approval of the second replacement se5 lection pool in section 312(d)(2). 

6 (4) The failure of the independent redistricting 

7 commission of the State to approve a final redis8 tricting plan for the State prior to the expiration of 

9 the deadline set forth in section 313(f). 

10 SEC. 322. SPECIAL RULE FOR REDISTRICTING CONDUCTED 

11 UNDER ORDER OF FEDERAL COURT. 

12 If a Federal court requires a State to conduct redis13 tricting subsequent to an apportionment of Representa14 tives in the State in order to comply with the Constitution 

15 or to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965, section 313 

16 shall apply with respect to the redistricting, except that 

17 the court may revise any of the deadlines set forth in such 

18 section if the court determines that a revision is appro19 priate in order to provide for a timely enactment of a new 

20 redistricting plan for the State. 


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1 Subtitle D—Administrative and 

2 Miscellaneous Provisions 

3 SEC. 331. PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR CARRYING OUT RE4 DISTRICTING. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF PAYMENTS.—Subject to sub6 sections (c) and (d), not later than 30 days after a State 

7 receives a State apportionment notice, the Election Assist8 ance Commission shall make a payment to the State in 

9 an amount equal to the product of— 

10 (1) the number of Representatives to which the 

11 State is entitled, as provided under the notice; and 

12 (2) $150,000. 

13 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State shall use the payment 

14 made under this section to establish and operate the 

15 State’s independent redistricting commission, to imple16 ment the State redistricting plan, and to otherwise carry 

17 out congressional redistricting in the State. 

18 (c) NO PAYMENT TO STATES ELECTING MEMBERS

19 AT LARGE.—The Election Assistance Commission shall 

20 not make a payment under this section to any State which, 

21 under the apportionment notice, will elect all of its Rep22 resentatives at large. 

23 (d) REQUIRING SUBMISSION OF SELECTION POOL AS

24 CONDITION OF PAYMENT.— 


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1 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided in 

2 paragraph (2) and paragraph (3), the Election As3 sistance Commission may not make a payment to a 

4 State under this section until the State certifies to 

5 the Commission that the nonpartisan agency estab6 lished or designated by a State under section 314(a) 

7 has, in accordance with section 312(b)(1), submitted 

8 a selection pool to the Select Committee on Redis9 tricting for the State established under section 

10 314(b). 

11 (2) EXCEPTION FOR STATES WITH EXISTING

12 COMMISSIONS.—In the case of a State which, pursu13 ant to section 301(c), is exempt from the require14 ments of section 301(a), the Commission may not 

15 make a payment to the State under this section until 

16 the State certifies to the Commission that its redis17 tricting commission meets the requirements of sec18 tion 301(c). 

19 (3) EXCEPTION FOR STATE OF IOWA.—In the 

20 case of the State of Iowa, the Commission may not 

21 make a payment to the State under this section until 

22 the State certifies to the Commission that it will 

23 carry out congressional redistricting pursuant to the 

24 State’s apportionment notice in accordance with a 

25 plan developed by the Iowa Legislative Services 


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1 Agency with the assistance of a Temporary Redis2 tricting Advisory Commission, as provided under the 

3 law described in section 301(d). 

4 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

6 necessary for payments under this section. 

7 SEC. 332. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. 

8 (a) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.— 

9 (1) ACTIONS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At10 torney General may bring a civil action in an appro11 priate district court for such relief as may be appro12 priate to carry out this Act. 

13 (2) AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF AC14 TION.—Any citizen of a State who is aggrieved by 

15 the failure of the State to meet the requirements of 

16 this Act may bring a civil action in the United 

17 States district court for the applicable venue for 

18 such relief as may be appropriate to remedy the fail19 ure. For purposes of this section, the ‘‘applicable 

20 venue’’ is the District of Columbia or the judicial 

21 district in which the capital of the State is located, 

22 as selected by the person who brings the civil action. 

23 (b) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—In any action 

24 brought forth under this section, the following rules shall 

25 apply: 


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1 (1) The action shall be filed in the district court 

2 of the United States for the District of Columbia or 

3 for the judicial district in which the capital of the 

4 State is located, as selected by the person bringing 

5 the action. 

6 (2) The action shall be heard by a 3-judge 

7 court convened pursuant to section 2284 of title 28, 

8 United States Code. 

9 (3) The 3-judge court shall consolidate actions 

10 brought for relief under subsection (b)(1) with re11 spect to the same State redistricting plan. 

12 (4) A copy of the complaint shall be delivered 

13 promptly to the Clerk of the House of Representa14 tives and the Secretary of the Senate. 

15 (5) A final decision in the action shall be re16 viewable only by appeal directly to the Supreme 

17 Court of the United States. Such appeal shall be 

18 taken by the filing of a notice of appeal within 10 

19 days, and the filing of a jurisdictional statement 

20 within 30 days, of the entry of the final decision. 

21 (6) It shall be the duty of the district court and 

22 the Supreme Court of the United States to advance 

23 on the docket and to expedite to the greatest pos24 sible extent the disposition of the action and appeal. 


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1 (c) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In a civil action under this 

2 section, the court may allow the prevailing party (other 

3 than the United States) reasonable attorney fees, includ4 ing litigation expenses, and costs. 

5 (d) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

6 (1) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES ADDITIONAL TO

7 OTHER RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—The rights and 

8 remedies established by this section are in addition 

9 to all other rights and remedies provided by law, and 

10 neither the rights and remedies established by this 

11 section nor any other provision of this Act shall su12 persede, restrict, or limit the application of the Vot13 ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). 

14 (2) VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.—Nothing in 

15 this Act authorizes or requires conduct that is pro16 hibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

17 10301 et seq.). 

18 SEC. 333. STATE APPORTIONMENT NOTICE DEFINED. 

19 In this title, the ‘‘State apportionment notice’’ means, 

20 with respect to a State, the notice sent to the State from 

21 the Clerk of the House of Representatives under section 

22 22(b) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fif23 teenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide 

24 for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress’’, apVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4000.IH H4000

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1 proved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(b)), of the number 

2 of Representatives to which the State is entitled. 

3 TITLE IV—GENERAL 

4 PROVISIONS 

5 SEC. 401. NO EFFECT ON ELECTIONS FOR STATE AND 

6 LOCAL OFFICE. 

7 Nothing in this Act or in any amendment made by 

8 this Act may be construed to affect the manner in which 

9 a State carries out elections for State or local office, in10 cluding the process by which a State establishes the dis11 tricts used in such elections. 

12 SEC. 402. SEVERABILITY. 

13 If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 

14 by this Act, or the application of a provision of this Act 

15 or an amendment made by this Act to any person or cir16 cumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder 

17 of this Act, and the application of the provisions to any 

18 person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the hold19 ing. 

20 SEC. 403. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

21 (a) REDISTRICTING.—Title III and the amendments 

22 made by such title shall apply with respect to redistricting 

23 carried out pursuant to the decennial census conducted 

24 during 2020 or any succeeding decennial census. 


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1 (b) RANKED CHOICE VOTING; USE OF MULTI-MEM2 BER DISTRICTS.—Titles I and II and the amendments 

3 made by such titles shall apply with respect to elections 

4 for Federal office held in 2022 and each succeeding year. 

Æ 


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