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List of majority-minority United States congressional districts

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List of majority-minority United States congressional districts

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A majority‑minority congressional district is a United States congressional district in which racial or ethnic minorities together make up more than half of the population. Some of these districts have been drawn to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits districting plans that dilute the ability of racial or language minorities to elect candidates of their choice. However, not all majority‑minority districts are mandated by the Act; many result from demographic patterns or partisan considerations.

As of the 119th Congress (2025), there are 120 majority‑minority congressional districts. Only a fraction of these districts are mandated by the Voting Rights Act — about 30 to 40 nationwide — while the remainder are partisan‑constructed or demographic outcomes.

The adoption of majority‑minority districts is contested both within and outside minority communities. Critics argue that such districts can dilute minority political power by “packing” voters into fewer districts, or that they resemble racial segregation. Supporters contend that they are necessary to ensure minorities can elect representatives and achieve descriptive representation in the House of Representatives.

Majority‑minority districts have been the subject of significant constitutional litigation, including Shaw v. Reno (1993), Miller v. Johnson (1995), and Bush v. Vera (1996), which examined the balance between Voting Rights Act compliance and constitutional limits on racial gerrymandering.

Notes:

  • Estimates of VRA‑mandated districts vary because the determination depends on applying the Thornburg v. Gingles test (1986), which requires that a minority group be sufficiently large, geographically compact, politically cohesive, and consistently outvoted.
  • Scholars and legal analysts generally place the number of mandated districts between 30 and 40 nationwide, with the remainder arising from partisan map‑drawing or demographic concentration.

Section 2 requirements under the Voting Rights Act

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act requires minority-opportunity districts in geographical areas in which minority voters would otherwise have "less opportunity than other members of the electorate ... to elect representatives of their choice." In Thornburg v. Gingles (1986), the Supreme Court held that Section 2 may necessitate the creation of a majority-minority district when (a) the minority population is "sufficiently large and geographically compact" to form a district and (b) both the majority and minority populations are sufficiently politically polarized that the majority can vote "usually to defeat the minority's preferred candidate."

Bartlett v. Strickland (2009) clarified the Gingles interpretation of Section 2 by holding that the minority group must constitute "more than 50 percent of the voting-age population in the relevant geographic area." Plaintiffs challenging a districting plan under Section 2 typically provide remedial maps in which the minority group composes a majority in the relevant district, such as in Allen v. Milligan (2023) where plaintiffs included "illustrative districting maps... which contained two majority-black districts that comported with traditional districting criteria."

The Supreme Court has left unsettled the question of whether minority groups can be aggregated under Section 2 if they vote in coalition with one another, and federal circuit courts remain divided on the issue.

Because of this jurisprudence on Section 2, federal law requires the existence of many of the current majority-minority congressional districts.

List of districts

Majority-minority districts in the 119th Congress: <br/>

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The following tables identify districts that are either required under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act or are otherwise drawn to be majority minority in accordance with traditional districting criteria or to gerrymander for partisan advantage. Voting-age population data in the tables below reflect 2020 census estimates for the 119th Congress. Members are accurate as of September 1, 2025.

African-American

Currently, there are 15 congressional districts where African Americans make up a majority of voting-age constituents and 14 other congressional districts where they make up a plurality. Most of these districts are located in the South and are represented by an African American member of congress. Democrats represent each of these districts.

StateDistrictMember (119th Congress)url = https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALCD1192020.P10?g=010XX00US$5000000&d=DEC+119th+Congressional+District+Summary+Filetitle = RACE FOR THE POPULATION 18 YEARS AND OVERwebsite = census.govpublisher = U.S. Census Bureau}}Perc.
MississippiMS-02355,29362.1%
TennesseeTN-09351,81260.3%
MarylandMD-04358,20759.8%
MarylandMD-07334,29754.7%
LouisianaLA-06318,01154.0%
New JerseyNJ-10315,20152.7%
IllinoisIL-01306,38052.0%
AlabamaAL-07295,11951.9%
GeorgiaGA-06307,24051.8%
GeorgiaGA-13294,37651.5%
GeorgiaGA-05313,39651.1%
LouisianaLA-02305,12451.0%
PennsylvaniaPA-03320,86451.0%
GeorgiaGA-04294,88750.6%
FloridaFL-20298,38350.1%
GeorgiaGA-02289,61249.3%
New YorkNY-09294,00048.9%
AlabamaAL-02272,02348.7%
IllinoisIL-02280,96448.4%
New YorkNY-08297,61648.2%
New YorkNY-05291,16847.2%
South CarolinaSC-06275,13346.9%
MichiganMI-13277,72346.9%
MissouriMO-01276,60245.4%
VirginiaVA-03278,42445.4%
IllinoisIL-07261,20743.0%
FloridaFL-24258,00542.2%
TexasTX-30242,22441.9%
TexasTX-09218,53638.6%

Asian American

Currently, there are two congressional districts where Asian Americans make up a majority of voting-age constituents and six other congressional districts where they make up a plurality. Most of these districts are located in California and are represented by an Asian American member of congress. Democrats represent each of these districts.

StateDistrictMember (119th Congress)Perc.
HawaiiHI-01398,963
CaliforniaCA-17353,112
New YorkNY-06296,148
HawaiiHI-02247,592
CaliforniaCA-45250,168
CaliforniaCA-28256,185
CaliforniaCA-14241,806
CaliforniaCA-15241,550

Hispanic and Latino

Currently, there are 38 congressional districts where Hispanic or Latino Americans make up a majority of voting-age constituents and 9 other congressional districts where they make up a plurality. Most of these districts are represented by a Hispanic or Latino Democratic member of congress.

StateDistrictMember (119th Congress)url = https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALCD1192020.P11?g=010XX00US$5000000&d=DEC+119th+Congressional+District+Summary+Filetitle = HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE FOR THE POPULATION 18 YEARS AND OVERwebsite = census.govpublisher = U.S. Census Bureau}}Perc.
TexasTX-34480,32288.5%
TexasTX-16463,68680.8%
TexasTX-15434,98078.9%
FloridaFL-27471,76374.2%
FloridaFL-28446,82873.4%
FloridaFL-26456,51273.2%
TexasTX-28402,71172.9%
TexasTX-29396,80472.4%
CaliforniaCA-22376,44869.3%
TexasTX-20392,05668.2%
IllinoisIL-04356,19763.2%
CaliforniaCA-34376,19861.6%
CaliforniaCA-35352,25761.2%
CaliforniaCA-46354,63161.2%
CaliforniaCA-29362,53061.1%
CaliforniaCA-42358,17461.1%
CaliforniaCA-18346,46860.8%
CaliforniaCA-21322,66960.7%
CaliforniaCA-13330,75760.7%
CaliforniaCA-25345,74560.4%
TexasTX-23340,97660.0%
CaliforniaCA-33324,61658.7%
CaliforniaCA-39328,24958.5%
CaliforniaCA-38350,02658.3%
ArizonaAZ-03330,59658.2%
CaliforniaCA-44339,06357.9%
CaliforniaCA-31342,49657.4%
CaliforniaCA-52331,83257.2%
New MexicoNM-02299,99956.1%
ArizonaAZ-07333,55455.5%
TexasTX-33302,35554.5%
CaliforniaCA-43307,99754.1%
TexasTX-35299,29551.3%
New YorkNY-15300,90151.1%
New YorkNY-14308,92950.5%
New YorkNY-13318,68250.4%
CaliforniaCA-37298,13150.3%
FloridaFL-09297,03250.0%
TexasTX-27292,19149.9%
New JerseyNJ-08299,47048.9%
IllinoisIL-03257,87143.8%
FloridaFL-25256,63042.3%
TexasTX-18Vacant229,40639.8%
New MexicoNM-03214,59939.7%
CaliforniaCA-27224,43439.2%
CaliforniaCA-09211,24237.6%
CaliforniaCA-08185,55331.5%

White plurality (majority-minority)

StateDistrictMember (119th Congress)White VAPPerc.Largest MinorityLargest Minority Perc.
MichiganMI-12282,91447.5%Afric. Amer.45.7%
OhioOH-11277,07544.5%Afric. Amer.44.3%
MarylandMD-05272,78545.7%Afric. Amer.43.0%
VirginiaVA-04284,55345.2%Afric. Amer.42.1%
North CarolinaNC-12229,03239.5%Afric. Amer.38.3%
WisconsinWI-04262,60447.1%Afric. Amer.31.5%
PennsylvaniaPA-02244,88341.3%Afric. Amer.26.2%
MassachusettsMA-07275,58342.2%Afric. Amer.24.3%
MarylandMD-08281,13146.9%Afric. Amer.18.2%
CaliforniaCA-11296,85044.6%Asian Amer.34.2%
CaliforniaCA-16277,95046.3%Asian Amer.32.1%
WashingtonWA-09267,55444.4%Asian Amer.26.7%
CaliforniaCA-07204,01835.0%Asian Amer.26.0%
CaliforniaCA-12218,54335.2%Asian Amer.24.6%
New YorkNY-10314,95949.7%Asian Amer.23.9%
NevadaNV-03290,35947.1%Asian Amer.20.8%
New JerseyNJ-12263,38643.5%Asian Amer.19.5%
CaliforniaCA-26271,46046.2%Hispanic/Latino39.1%
New JerseyNJ-09245,79240.9%Hispanic/Latino39.1%
New MexicoNM-01278,55649.4%Hispanic/Latino37.6%
CaliforniaCA-23251,94644.1%Hispanic/Latino37.4%
TexasTX-11270,98147.7%Hispanic/Latino35.2%
New YorkNY-07229,01736.8%Hispanic/Latino35.0%
CaliforniaCA-41286,07848.2%Hispanic/Latino34.2%
TexasTX-32214,85536.2%Hispanic/Latino32.6%
NevadaNV-01263,52443.9%Hispanic/Latino32.2%
NevadaNV-04243,75841.6%Hispanic/Latino30.6%
TexasTX-06279,35248.8%Hispanic/Latino30.2%
TexasTX-08276,02848.8%Hispanic/Latino29.7%
FloridaFL-10235,18038.5%Hispanic/Latino28.6%
TexasTX-07179,68330.2%Hispanic/Latino28.3%
New YorkNY-16252,63641.7%Hispanic/Latino26.9%
TexasTX-22252,12445.2%Hispanic/Latino26.3%
FloridaFL-14306,56049.4%Hispanic/Latino26.0%
CaliforniaCA-51294,68148.6%Hispanic/Latino22.6%
New JerseyNJ-06276,01145.2%Hispanic/Latino22.1%

References

References

  1. "Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act".
  2. "Redistricting Basics".
  3. "Redistricting and the Voting Rights Act".
  4. "Redistricting Criteria".
  5. (2022). "Congressional Redistricting: Key Legal and Policy Issues". Congressional Research Service.
  6. (2014). "Congressional Redistricting and the Voting Rights Act: A Legal Overview". Congressional Research Service.
  7. (2017). "Minority Representation: No Conflict with Fair Maps". Brennan Center for Justice.
  8. Pildes, Richard H.. (1996). "The Politics of Race: Majority‑Minority Districts and the Voting Rights Act". Harvard Law Review.
  9. ''Voting Rights Act of 1965'', {{USStatute. 89. 110. (1965)
  10. ''Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982'', {{USStatute. 97. 205. (1982)
  11. ''Thornburg v. Gingles'', {{ussc. 478. 30. 1986
  12. ''Bartlett v. Strickland'', {{ussc. 556. 1. 2009
  13. ''Allen v. Milligan'', {{ussc. 599. 1. 2022
  14. {{cite court. (2012). link
  15. {{cite court. (2024). link
  16. "RACE FOR THE POPULATION 18 YEARS AND OVER". U.S. Census Bureau.
  17. "HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE FOR THE POPULATION 18 YEARS AND OVER". U.S. Census Bureau.
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