Redistricting is rampant ahead of the US House midterm elections. What states are taking action?

A partisan redistricting battle among states has accelerated ahead of the November midterm elections following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened the federal Voting Rights Act and opened the way for states to try to eliminate voting districts drawn for racial minorities.

Legislative voting districts typically are redrawn based on census data after the start of each decade. But an unusual spate of mid-decade redistricting broke out after President Donald Trump urged Texas Republicans last year to reshape U.S. House districts to give the party an edge in the midterm elections. Democrats in California countered with their own political gerrymandering. More states followed.

Tennessee has become the ninth state to adopt new House districts and several more are considering it. So far, Republicans believe they could win up to 14 additional seats from new districts in Texas, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. Democrats, meanwhile, think they could gain up to 10 seats from new districts in California, Utah and Virginia.

But those tallies presume past voting patterns hold in November. Historically, the president's party tends to lose seats in the midterms. Democrats need to gain just a few seats in November to wrest control of the House from Republicans, which would give them greater power to oppose Trump.

Lawmakers in several states are considering plans for new U.S. House maps.

Current map: two Democrats, four Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has postponed the May 16 congressional primary to allow lawmakers to revise U.S. House districts in response to an April 29 Supreme Court ruling striking down a majority Black congressional district.

Challenges: Several lawsuits have been filed in federal and state court asserting that Landry lacked authority to suspend the primary elections.

Current map: two Democrats, five Republicans

New map: Republican state officials hope to revert to a U.S. House map passed in 2023 — but not previously used — that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: The current map was imposed under a court order and is supposed to be used until after the 2030 census. State officials have asked federal courts to set aside that order in light of its ruling in the Louisiana redistricting case.

Current map: one Democrat, six Republicans

New map: Republican state House members have proposed a new U.S. House map that could give the GOP a better chance at winning an additional seat.

Challenges: State lawmakers are to wrap up their regular work May 14. The House voted to allow redistricting to be considered after then, but the extension also would need a two-thirds vote from the Senate.

New U.S. House districts have passed in nine states since last summer. Seven took up redistricting voluntarily, one was required to by its state constitution and another did so under court order.

Current map: 13 Democrats, 25 Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a revised House map into law last August that could help Republicans win five additional seats.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in December cleared the way for the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It has since overturned a lower-court ruling that blocked the new map because it was “racially gerrymandered.”

Current map: 43 Democrats, nine Republicans

New map: Voters in November approved revised House districts drawn by the Democratic-led Legislature that could help Democrats win five additional seats.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in February allowed the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It denied an appeal from Republicans and the Department of Justice, which claimed the districts impermissibly favor Hispanic voters.

Current map: two Democrats, six Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a revised House map into law last September that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: A Cole County judge ruled the new map is in effect as election officials work to determine whether a referendum petition seeking a statewide vote complies with constitutional criteria and contains enough valid petition signatures. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit claiming mid-decade redistricting is illegal. It’s scheduled to hear arguments in May on claims the new districts violate compactness requirements and should be placed on hold pending the potential referendum.

Current map: four Democrats, 10 Republicans

New map: The Republican-led General Assembly gave final approval in October to revised districts that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: A federal court panel in November denied a request to block the revised districts from being used in the midterm elections.

Current map: five Democrats, 10 Republicans

New map: A bipartisan panel composed primarily of Republicans voted in October to approve revised House districts that improve Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats.

Challenges: None. The state constitution required new districts before the 2026 election, because Republicans had approved the prior map without sufficient Democratic support after the last census.

Current map: no Democrats, four Republicans

New map: A judge in November imposed revised House districts that could help Democrats win a seat. The court ruled that lawmakers had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters when adopting the prior map.

Challenges: A federal court panel and the state Supreme Court, in February, each rejected Republican challenges to the judicial map selection.

Current map: six Democrats, five Republicans

New map: Voters approved a constitutional amendment on April 21 authorizing new U.S. House districts backed by Democrats that could help the party win up to four additional seats.

Challenges: The state Supreme Court allowed the referendum to proceed, but it has yet to rule whether the effort is legal. The court is considering an appeal of a Tazewell County judge’s ruling that the amendment is invalid because lawmakers violated procedural requirements.

Current map: eight Democrats, 20 Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on May 4 that he had signed revised U.S. House districts that improve the GOP’s chances of winning four additional seats.

Challenges: Court challenges contend the new map violates a state constitution provision prohibiting districts from being drawn with intent to favor or disfavor a political party.

Current map: one Democrat, eight Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed new U.S. House districts May 7 that improve the GOP's chances of winning an additional seat by carving up the lone Democratic-held seat, a Black-majority district that includes Memphis.

Challenges: Court challenges are expected ahead of the primaries, which are scheduled for Aug. 6.

A demonstrator holds up a sign outside the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday, May, 7 2026. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)

State troopers remove people from the House gallery during a special session of the state legislature to redraw U.S. Congressional voting maps Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

LONDON (AP) — British voters cast ballots Thursday in local and regional elections that could shake up the country's politics and deliver a heavy blow to embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Starmer’s center-left Labour Party is bracing for big losses in polls that will choose about 5,000 local councilors and a handful of mayors across England, as well as semiautonomous parliaments in Scotland and Wales. They are the biggest set of elections since Labour swept to power in a landslide in July 2024, and Starmer’s opponents have painted them as a midterm referendum on the prime minister.

Polls closed at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT), and some local authorities will count ballots overnight, but the bulk of the results are likely to be declared on Friday afternoon.

A rout could trigger moves by restive Labour lawmakers to oust a leader who led them to power less than two years ago. Even if Starmer survives for now, many analysts doubt he will lead the party into the next national election, which must be held by 2029.

Starmer’s popularity has plunged after repeated missteps since he became prime minister in July 2024. His government has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living — tasks made harder by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has choked off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The prime minister has been further hurt by his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

Labour is defending about 2,500 seats on English local councils, and party members are apprehensive it may lose many of them.

Starmer already survived a crisis in February, when some Labour lawmakers, including the party’s leader in Scotland, urged him to quit over the Mandelson appointment.

He has vowed to serve out his five-year term, but a bad result could spark a challenge from a high-profile rival such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner or Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Alternately, Starmer could face pressure from the party to set a timetable for his departure after an orderly leadership contest.

Luke Tryl of pollster More in Common said the local elections are likely to see “the total collapse of the traditional two-party system” that was dominated for decades by the Labour and Conservative parties.

The big winner is expected to be hard-right party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, which is aiming for working-class, former Labour strongholds in England’s north and on London’s outer edges with its anti-establishment, anti-immigration message. The Green Party is also likely to gain hundreds of council seats in urban centers and university towns.

The main opposition Conservative Party is also expected to lose ground, with the centrist Liberal Democrats making some gains.

Starmer didn’t even mention the Conservatives in his final preelection message, framing it as a choice between “progress and a better future” under Labour and “the anger and division offered up by Reform or empty promises from the Greens.”

Farage said on the eve of the election that a strong result for Reform would mean Starmer is “gone by the middle of summer.”

Both Reform UK and the Greens have grown rapidly in the last year or two, and are facing increased scrutiny as a result. Farage is facing questions over a 5 million pound ($6.8 million) donation from a cryptocurrency billionaire that he accepted in 2024, but did not declare. He says it was a personal gift.

The environmentalist Greens, who have stressed their pro-Palestinian credentials under self-described “eco populist” leader Zack Polanski, have fired several candidates for antisemitic social media posts.

Reform also is eyeing breakthroughs in Scotland and Wales, though pro-independence nationalists the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru are likely to form governments in Edinburgh and Cardiff.

“Labour’s going to lose to Reform in some places, Greens in others, and here and there they’ll lose one or two seats to the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives as well,” said Tony Travers, a professor of government at the London School of Economics. “They’re fighting on four fronts in England — five in Wales and Scotland.”

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria leave a polling station in central London, Thursday, May 7, 2026 after casting their votes in the local elections.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Britain's Reform Party leader Nigel Farage poses for photographers with an ice-cream on the beach after casting his vote at a polling station in Walton on the Naze, England, Thursday, May 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

A dog jumps outside a polling station in London, Thursday, May 7, 2026 as it waits for the owner during the UK 2026 local elections.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A voter holds a polling card as she queues at a polling station in Walton on the Naze, England, Thursday, May 7, 2026 to cast her vote in the UK local elections.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

Flaeda the poodle, named after the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, poses for a picture outside a polling station in London, Thursday, May 7, 2026 as she waits for her owner during the UK 2026 local elections.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Britain's Reform Party leader Nigel Farage shows his socks as he arrives at a polling station in Walton on the Naze, England, Thursday, May 7, 2026 to cast his vote in the local elections.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria arrive at a polling station in central London, Thursday, May 7, 2026 to cast their votes in the local elections.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria arrive at a polling station in central London, Thursday, May 7, 2026 to cast their votes in the local elections.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria arrive at a polling station in central London, Thursday, May 7, 2026 to cast their votes in the local elections.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A Reform UK political sign put up by the householder to show support ahead of local council elections in London, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

A Green Party political sign put up by the householder to show support ahead of local council elections in London, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Liberal Democrats political sign put up by the householders to show support ahead of local council elections in London, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

An election campaign poster is displayed at a shop for the upcoming local council elections, in London, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Ballot boxes and signs are dispatched to polling stations around Edinburgh from Edinburgh City Council's storage area at the Sirius Building in the west of the city ahead of the Scottish Elections on May 7, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)