Voters are caught in the middle as the redistricting battle intensifies

Voters cast their ballots on April 21 in Arlington, Va. The Virginia Supreme Court has nullified the April referendum on redistricting. Win McNamee/ hide caption toggle caption Win McNamee/ After more than two decades working in elections, including four years as Virginia's top voting official, it takes a lot to surprise Chris Piper. But the frenzied redistricting battle of the past few months — including a congressional map in his home state thrown out by a court after people voted to approve it, and certain elections postponed in Louisiana and Alabama after mail ballots already went out — has done it. "I've never seen anything like it," said Piper. Neither have voters, he worries. "The biggest impact on voters is confusion," Piper said. "'Where do I go vote? Who is even my elected representative? Or, which district am I even in?'... There's the potential for them to not know who they're voting for." Much of the focus of the ongoing redistricting war has been on which political party will come out on top in the race to control Congress. But it's voters who will pay a cost, say voting experts and voting rights advocates, in the form of discarded votes, diminished voting power and a democratic process that is increasingly complicated to navigate. …