Lots of polls suggest many Americans are already focused on the 2020 elections — specifically the presidential race, or specific U.S. Senate races.
But Wendy Underhill is looking a bit further down the ballot, at state legislative races. That’s because in many states, the party that controls the Legislature will be in charge of the redistricting process after the 2020 Census and will be drawing new congressional and legislative maps.
Underhill is the director of the Elections and Redistricting Program at the National Conference of State Legislatures and was in town this week for the group’s Capitol Forum.
She says for her 2020 is the biggest year of her dozen years of working on elections.
Underhill explained how many state Legislatures draw the maps — and how many states have done what Arizona has and given the job to an independent commission.
