of the 15 states that would be redrawing their districts in 2010. They then used sophisticated software such as Maptitude for Redistricting, the software used by most entities, independent commissions, and political parties involved in redistricting, to devise districts favorable to the Republican party, for example by clustering Democratic voters into a handful of districts and ensuring the rest were drawn to include Republican majorities. The effects of REDMAP first came about in the 2012 United States House of Representatives elections, in which Republicans were able to secure several districts and retain control of the United States House of Representatives by a 33-seat margin despite Democratic candidates collectively receiving over 1 million more votes than Republican candidates. However, in the 2018 US midterm elections, though the GOP won a majority of Senate seats, it lost the House by a portion roughly equal to the popular vote. The redistricting of Wisconsin became the basis of a case before the Supreme Court of the United States, Gill v. Whitford, brought to challenge if the redistricting of that state was considered unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering. Criticism REDMAP has been criticized for its efforts to gerrymander districts. Critics have noted that the Republican Party won a 33-seat majority in the House of Representatives despite its candidates collectively receiving 1.4 million fewer votes than Democratic candidates. REDMAP has also been criticized for targeting people of color, particularly African Americans. David Daley, author of the 2016 book Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count, stated that the effects of REDMAP constituted a "wholesale political resegregation along both sides of the Mason-Dixon line" and that redistricting by Republican legislatures redrew maps to "pack as many Black and Democratic voters into as few districts as possible". Reverend William J. Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, has likewise asserted that Republicans "cracked, stacked, packed, and bleached Black voters". In response to this, Black political leaders made deals with Republicans in states like Missouri, North Carolina, and Georgia to preserve Black representation in Congress while giving Republicans more safe seats. In addition, some states are required by law to have majority-minority congressional districts due to the Voting Rights Act. References See also Gerrymandering in the United States Further reading Gerrymandering in the United States Political software Custom software projects 2010 software Republican Party (United States)