Congressional Redistricting in New Jersey

New Jersey, like nearly every state in 2011, faced the prospect of redistricting—the process of redrawing the boundary lines of congressional districts to ensure that each person is equally represented in the U.S. House of Representatives. Occurring after reapportionment, redistricting enables states to achieve the principle of “one person—one vote” by configuring districts of equal population. According to the 2010 U.S. census, the state’s overall growth rate of 4.5 percent was not enough to stave off a cut to the number of members representing the state in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2011, the reapportionment process determined that New Jersey would lose one seat of its thirteen seats in the House of Representatives.