[BoboStin]

NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/us...er=rss&emc=rss

On paper, the sweeping gains Republicans enjoyed last year in statehouses across the country gave the party a profound advantage in the nascent and increasingly contentious power struggle to create new Congressional districts.

But those gains are likely to add up to fewer than 10 seats in the House of Representatives, largely because Republicans took so many seats from Democrats in 2010 that there are not many left to change hands through redistricting.

...

Compounding the Republicans’ problem, much of the nation’s population gains have been among Hispanics, who have tended to vote Democratic, or in areas where voters tend to be less friendly to Republicans.

Strict federal laws concerning areas that are dominated by minorities will also be an obstacle for the party in some states. For the first time since the Voting Rights Act was enacted in 1965, a Democrat controls the Justice Department, which enforces the law, during a redistricting year.

...

Even as Republicans look to pick up seats in North Carolina and other states, some of those gains are expected to be offset in Illinois and California. In California, maps released Friday, but not yet adopted, seem to favor Democrats, who have a registration advantage in the state.

A wild card in the process is the Voting Rights Act and how President Obama’s Justice Department enforces it. The law prohibits discrimination against members of a racial or minority-language group. Part of the law affects only certain states that have a history of such problems. Those states must get approval from the United States attorney general or the Federal District Court in Washington for any change that affects voting.