What is Redistricting?
After the release of the U.S. Decennial Census, Massachusetts is constitutionally mandated to change its House, Senate, Governor's Council and Congressional district boundaries to accommodate shifts in population and provide equal representation to its citizens. The information below will provide a historical perspective of redistricting in Massachusetts from the early days of paper maps to today’s more sophisticated Geographic Information Systems.
Historical Redistricting Documents
Historical documents about the drawing of legislative districts:
The Seventh Interim Report of the Joint Special Committee Established to Study A New Division of the Commonwealth into One Hundred and Sixty Representative Districts, Forty Senatorial Districts, and Eight Councillor Districts (House Bill 5900, 1977)
Boundaries of Councillor and Senate districts from 1812
Division of Districts prior to Article CI of the Massachusetts Constitution
2012 Report from the Chairs of the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting