Guide to Voting Districts: 4 Types of Voting Districts

A voting district (also known as an electoral district or election district) is a small geographic area that the government uses to group voters. Voters in each district vote in both primary elections and general elections for candidates for federal, state, county, and city offices. Most of these are single-member offices, where only one candidate can win the position. Other offices, like school boards and state courts, may feature multi-member districts, where voters can fill a number of seats within the same body.

Most United States citizens live in multiple voting districts, including:

1. 1. Statewide districts: A statewide district (or territory-wide district) covers voters who choose the president and vice president (via the electoral college), the U.S. Senate, and various statewide offices like governor, lieutenant governor, state attorney general, and state comptroller.
2. 2. Congressional districts: A congressional district covers the district of your local member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressional districts are apportioned by population. Federal law does not grant U.S. territories and Washington, D.C. voting representatives in Congress.
3. 3. State legislative districts: State senate districts and state assembly districts fall into this category. The district boundaries for your local state senator may be different than those for your state assembly member. Some state judges elected by voters may fit into similar districts.
4. 4. Local government districts: Local cities and counties may have their own legislative bodies, and local district lines typically differ from state legislature district lines. Local officials representing local voting districts include mayors, city council members, county executives, school board members, county supervisors, city attorneys, and local judges.

Polling places are located within each voting district. On election day or during in-person early voting, registered voters may go to polling locations to cast their ballots for relevant elections.

In the United States, some voting districts are determined by geographic boundaries such as state lines, county lines, and city lines. Many election district maps, though, are determined by population. Population-apportioned legislative bodies include the U.S. House of Representatives, state assemblies, and city councils. These districts represent approximately equal numbers of people. They must be geographically contiguous—although the process of gerrymandering, wherein a political party contorts districts to its advantage, can violate the spirit of this requirement.

State legislatures and county or city governments determine most population-based electoral districts. National legislative districts (like those for the U.S. House of Representatives) are subject to redistricting after every national census. Per federal law, the U.S. Census Bureau determines each state’s population every ten years, and the congressional redistricting process follows suit.

To vote in a particular electoral district, you must register to vote in advance of the election. Some states offer same-day registration, but most voters register well in advance in order to participate. To find voter registration information, visit www.vote.gov, where you can access sample ballots, registration forms, and voting guidelines in your local district.

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