Slate (10/25/21) Interviews the Brennan Center's Michael Li on Virginia Situation (VIRGINIA)

Slate reports on the situation in Virginia, where the redistricting commission advocated by Democrats is deadlocked and the line-drawing task would then move to the conservative-leaning Virginia Supreme Court. A good part of this article features a Q&A with Brennan Center senior counsel Michael Li.

Politico (10/25/21) on Updated Illinois Map that Includes Second Hispanic-Leaning District (ILLINOIS)

Politico has an update on where things stand regarding a new map for Illinois. Two key developments are the projection that Democrats would likely win 14 out of the 17 seats and that the plan would add a second district likely to be won by an Hispanic-Latinx candidate.

Huffington Post (10/24/21) on Independent Redistricting Commissions (NATIONAL)

The Huffington Post reports on independent redistricting commissions across the nation, both their promise and their pitfalls. Democrats have supported such commissions, but have awakened to their mixed results. On the one hand, commissions may be "preventing Democrats from reaping the partisan advantages of gerrymandering to the degree Republicans have." On the other hand, in states such as Michigan, Democrats "acknowledge they’re better off [with a commission] than with the alternative: extreme gerrymanders handed down by Republicans" when the legislature controlled the line-drawing. Other states with commissions mentioned in the article are Colorado and Virginia.

Bozeman Daily Chronicle (10/21/21) on Montana Narrowing Down Its Options (MONTANA)

Montana will be gaining a second seat in the U.S. House, requiring a decision on where to draw the (squiggly) line between districts. As the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports, the state's districting commission has put forward two maps, one favored by Republicans and the other by Democrats (hat tip Daily Kos). Both maps are shown with the linked article. Each map divides roughly the westernmost one-fifth of the state from the easternmost four-fifths. The difference is in where specifically the squiggles go. The final decision on a map rests with the commission, as described here.

Chicago Tribune (10/15/21) on Democrats' Plan to Increase Party's Edge in Illinois (ILLINOIS)

Nationally, Illinois is seen as the Democrats' second-best opportunity (next to New York) to draw a new U.S. House map that will gain the party seats in the next Congress. Accordingly, as the Chicago Tribune reports, Illinois Democrats have introduced a map designed to drive the Republicans' seat total down by two .

The current lineup from the Land of Lincoln is 13-5 Democrats, but the state will lose a seat due to population shifts. The Democrats will now attempt to use their hold on the governorship and majorities in the legislature to create a 14-3 breakdown (the article says some wanted the Dems to try for 15-2, but party leaders did not pursue this vigorously).

The Democrats' plan, which is slated for legislative hearings and a vote in the next few weeks, features two potential districts that match two incumbents against each other: One puts together anti-Trump Republican Adam Kinzinger (who might well lose his primary) and Democrat Marie Newman, whereas the other places GOP representatives Darin LaHood and Mary Miller in the same boundaries.

Dave Wasserman has tweeted that three of the Democrat-proposed districts, while containing pro-Biden majorities from the 2020 presidential vote, might not be as safely Democratic as they could have been.

Joe Monahan (10/4/21) on Possible All-Democratic New Mexico Map (NEW MEXICO)

New Mexico political blogger Joe Monahan (h/t Dave Wasserman) reports on a map under consideration (appearing to the left) that would likely convert the Land of Enchantment's U.S. House delegation from the current 2-1 to 3-0 Democratic (LINK; I couldn't find a way to link to Monahan's specific posting on the map, so you'll need to scroll down to it once you reach his blog). 

Under the current map, there is a clear northern NM seat (CD-3, D-leaning), a clear southern NM seat (CD-2, currently GOP-held, but occasionally won by Democrats when they have a national landslide), and an Albuquerque seat (CD-1, D-leaning). 

The proposed map would feature "sideways-L" shapes for the 2nd and 3rd districts, with the effect of taking conservative territory out of the 2nd and putting some liberal territory (on the west and south sides of the Albuquerque area) into it.

Associated Press (9/30/21) on Finalized Nebraska Map Being Similar to Previous Decade's; Maine Also Finishes the Job (NEBRASKA and MAINE)

Despite some earlier talk that Nebraska Republicans might try to break-up the state's Omaha-based Congressional district -- which has leaned slightly GOP in House races, but Democratic in recent presidential elections --  a map that largely preserves the status quo has received final approval. The AP reports on final developments in this article.

Under the new map, the other two of Nebraska's three districts will remain solidly red. The following Dave Wasserman tweet packs a lot of information into a short statement...

Note the reference to Nebraska becoming the third state to complete its maps. As discussed here on the blog, Oregon was the first state to do so. Maine, with a status quo map for its two seats, was the second.