Only 16% Say Congressional Districts Will Be Drawn Fairly

The chart above reflects the results of the new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between August 14th and 17th of a national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,250 registered voters). The margin of error for adults is 2.8 points, and for registered voters is 3 points.

Now that the census has been released, many states will need to redraw their congressional districts -- some to add and some to subtract districts. Only a few states have independent commissions to redraw the districts. In most states the districts are redrawn by the legislature. That means the party that controls the legislature can draw the districts to unfairly advantage their party (a process called gerrymandering).

The public knows this, and a plurality (44% of adults and 48% of registered voters) believes the districts will not be fairly drawn. Only 16% of adults (and 17% of registered voters) think the districts will be fairly drawn.