Bills

A BILL To establish independent congressional redistricting commissions in each State, prohibit partisan gerrymandering, require transparent and objective districting standards, and ensure fair representation for the people of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the Fair Congressional Districts and Anti-Gerrymandering Act of 2026. SECTION 2. PURPOSE. The purposes of this Act are— - to ensure that congressional districts fairly represent the people; - to prohibit congressional districts drawn for partisan advantage; - to increase public confidence in federal elections; - to promote electoral competition and accountability; - to establish transparent and objective standards for congressional redistricting. SECTION 3. FINDINGS. Congress finds that— - free and fair elections are fundamental to the Constitution; - partisan gerrymandering undermines equal representation; - technological advances have made partisan manipulation increasingly precise; - voters should choose their representatives rather than representatives choosing their voters; - transparent, nonpartisan procedures strengthen democratic institutions. SECTION 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS. Each State shall establish an Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission. Each commission shall consist of fifteen members: - five affiliated with the political party receiving the highest statewide vote in the previous presidential election; - five affiliated with the political party receiving the second-highest statewide vote; and - five who are unaffiliated or registered as independent voters. Commission members shall not, during the previous six years, have served as— - an elected official; - a registered lobbyist; - a political party officer; - a congressional employee; - a paid campaign consultant. Commission members shall swear an oath to act impartially and in accordance with this Act. SECTION 5. DISTRICTING STANDARDS. Districts shall be drawn in the following order of priority: 1. Equal population. 2. Compliance with the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. 3. Geographic contiguity. 4. Compactness. 5. Preservation of counties, cities, and towns where practical. 6. Preservation of recognized communities of interest. 7. Respect for natural geographic boundaries whenever practical. Districts shall not be drawn to: - favor or disfavor any political party; - favor or disfavor any incumbent; - favor or disfavor any candidate. SECTION 6. PROHIBITED DATA. No commission may consider— - political party registration; - prior election results; - campaign contribution information; - residence of incumbents or candidates; - demographic information except as necessary to comply with the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. SECTION 7. PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY. Each commission shall— - conduct all meetings in public; - livestream meetings; - publish all proposed maps; - publish all supporting data; - publish all software used; - permit public comment for at least 45 days before adopting a final map. SECTION 8. COMPUTER-GENERATED COMPARISON MAPS. Before adopting a congressional map, the commission shall generate no fewer than 10,000 computer-produced district maps using the criteria established by this Act. If the proposed map is determined by independent statistical analysis to be an extreme partisan outlier when compared with the computer-generated maps, the proposed map may not be adopted. SECTION 9. OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE. All software used to generate congressional districts shall be open source and publicly available for inspection and independent verification. SECTION 10. JUDICIAL REVIEW. Any registered voter residing within the State may file suit challenging a congressional district. Federal courts shall expedite such cases. The Supreme Court may grant expedited review. If a court determines that a map violates this Act, the court shall order a replacement map before the next congressional election. SECTION 11. ENFORCEMENT. The Attorney General may bring civil actions to enforce this Act. The Election Assistance Commission shall issue regulations necessary to implement this Act. States failing to comply shall be subject to appropriate judicial remedies. SECTION 12. REDISTRICTING SCHEDULE. Congressional districts shall be redrawn only: - following each decennial census; or - when required by a federal court order. SECTION 13. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this Act is held invalid, the remainder shall not be affected. SECTION 14. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act shall take effect on January 1 following its enactment and shall apply to the first congressional election occurring after the next decennial census, unless a State elects to implement its provisions earlier.