Republicans redrew the maps to win seats, and the plan is working out worse than expected

In the United States, each state draws the districts in which members of the House of Representatives are elected. This year, Republicans redrew them in several states to win more seats. But five days before the November 3 election, the plan isn't working as they hoped.

What redrawing the maps means

Changing district boundaries can let a party win more seats with the same votes: it's enough to group its voters where it suits it best. It's called gerrymandering.

The House of Representatives has 435 seats, and all of them are up for election every two years.

What they expected and what they have

Republicans redrew 15 districts. According to the EFE agency, only three of those 15 now look like safe seats to them.

Republican leader Tom Emmer already admitted in early October that they won't win all the seats they wanted. In Texas, where five districts were redrawn, their strategists are only really confident about two. In Ohio they could end up with none of the two they were after, and North Carolina is up in the air.

The Democratic response

Democrats responded with their own maps in California and Utah. According to the Cook Political Report, Republicans could win nine seats from the new maps and Democrats five: a net gain of only four for Republicans.

Why it matters

With the House so divided, a few seats can decide who controls Congress for the last two years of Donald Trump's term.

For another controversy from this election, read [the trick of the two Dan Sullivans in Alaska](alaska-dos-sullivan.html).