Ballots and Districts
Why your ballot isn’t the same as your friend’s two blocks away
Alternative 1
Your ballot is effectively a map. Every race you see—city council, school board, county supervisor, state legislature, Congress—comes from the boundaries drawn around where you live. These maps are redrawn every ten years after the census, and sometimes mid-cycle when courts intervene. Each jurisdiction—city, county, state, federal—draws its own districts with different rules.
This is why neighbors on the same street can have different ballots. One might vote for a different school board member because the district boundary cuts between houses. Another might see a county supervisor race you don’t. District lines set who you can hold accountable, whose policies affect your neighborhood, and who competes for your vote.
Redistricting shifts power quietly. Without changing the population, the lines can strengthen or weaken representation, alter voting blocs, and change which communities carry influence.
Alternative 2
Your ballot is built from the district boundaries drawn around your home. Cities, counties, states, and Congress each use different maps with different rules. After every census—and sometimes after lawsuits—these lines shift.
The result: two people living half a block apart can vote in different school board races, city council seats, or legislative districts. Districts decide which officials represent you, which issues get attention, and how political power is distributed across neighborhoods.
Redistricting can dilute or strengthen communities, alter voting blocs, or change electoral competitiveness without a single voter moving. It’s one of the quietest but most consequential forces in everyday democracy.