every decade, census data is used to redraw congressional and state legislative districts to ensure that constituents are equally represented under the 1965 voting rights act. redistricting results in higher numbers of new and open seats across the country. research has shown that women have a greater success in districts with open seats, particularly when organizations identify and recruit women to run for office. cawp research has shown that women, like men, who run against incumbents are rarely successful. when women challenged incumbents, one out of 37 challengers was successful in 1990, two of 41 challengers in 1992, and three of 52 challengers in 1994. when women ran for open seats in the same election years, three of eight women won in 1990, 22 of 39 women in 1992, and eight of 16 women in 1994. as of december 21, 2010, election data services projects that 18 states will see changes in the sizes of their congressional delegations in the 2012 elections. illinois, iowa, louisiana, massachusetts, michigan, missouri, new jersey, and pennsylvania are expected to lose one seat while new york and ohio are expected to lose two seats. arizona, georgia, nevada, south carolina, utah and washington are expected to gain one seat, while florida is expected to gain two seats, and texas is expected to gain four seats.