; and (6) partisan gerrymandering dilutes citizens’ votes because partisan gerrymandering injures voters and political parties by infringing on their First Amendment right to associate freely and their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of the laws. 5002. Ban on mid-decade redistricting A State that has been redistricted in accordance with this title may not be redistricted again until after the next apportionment of Representatives under section 22(a) of the Act entitled An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress , approved June 18, 1929 ( 2 U.S.C. 2a ), unless a court requires the State to conduct such subsequent redistricting to comply with the Constitution of the United States, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( 52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq. ), the terms or conditions of this title, or applicable State law. 5003. Criteria for redistricting (a) Requiring plans To meet criteria A State may not use a congressional redistricting plan enacted following the notice of apportionment transmitted to the President on April 26, 2021, or any subsequent notice of apportionment, if such plan is not in compliance with this section, without regard to whether or not the plan was enacted by the State before, on, or after the effective date of this title. (b) Ranked criteria Under the redistricting plan of a State, there shall be established single-member congressional districts using the following criteria as set forth in the following order of priority: (1) Districts shall comply with the United States Constitution, including the requirement that they substantially equalize total population, without regard to age, citizenship status, or immigration status. (2) Districts shall comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( 52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq. ), including by creating any districts where, if based upon the totality of the circumstances, 2 or more politically cohesive groups protected by such Act are able to elect representatives of