Redistricting 2010: Reforming the Process of Distributing
Political Power Publication Date: February 2009 Publisher(s):
Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, inc. Author(s):
Ann Williamson-Heath Keywords: Apportionment; Redistricting The
U.S. Constitution requires that a national population census be
taken every 10 years to determine how many congressional
representatives each state should have. Thereafter, census data
are reported to the U.S. President and individual states as
required by federal law. Those data provide the basis for
drawing congressional and state legislative district maps. The
next reapportionment and redistricting cycle will be significant
for Louisiana. Since the last census count in 2000, Louisiana
has lost a significant amount of its populace to other states.
Further, residents who have remained in Louisiana have moved
away from the once densely populated New Orleans area toward
other parts of the state. The state's inability to maintain
population or grow as fast as its peers