Fact check: In the history of the United States how many times has a state redistrict county lines

1. Summary of the results

The analyses reveal that none of the sources provide a direct answer to the specific question about how many times states have redistricted county lines in U.S. history. Instead, the sources focus on contemporary redistricting battles and general redistricting processes.

The sources primarily discuss current redistricting efforts, particularly in Texas, where Republicans are redrawing congressional maps to increase their political advantage ^{[1] [2]}. Multiple sources confirm that gerrymandering has been used by both major political parties to redraw district boundaries for electoral advantage ^[3]. The analyses also highlight ongoing partisan battles, with California planning to counter Texas's new congressional map ^[4].

One source addresses county preservation rules in redistricting but does not quantify historical instances of county line changes ^[5]. Another discusses various legal constraints on redistricting, including equal population requirements and minority voting rights protections ^[6].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question assumes that states regularly redistrict county lines, but the analyses suggest this may be conflating two different processes. The sources indicate that redistricting typically refers to congressional and legislative district boundaries, not county lines themselves ^{[5] [6]}.

Critical missing context includes:

• The distinction between redistricting political districts versus changing actual county boundaries
• Historical data on county boundary changes, which appears to be a separate administrative process from electoral redistricting
• The fact that county lines are generally more stable than legislative districts, which are redrawn every decade following the census

The analyses focus heavily on contemporary partisan redistricting battles ^{[1] [4] [2]} but lack historical perspective on the frequency of actual county boundary modifications throughout U.S. history.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains a fundamental conceptual confusion by conflating redistricting (redrawing electoral districts) with changing county lines. The sources suggest these are distinct processes with different legal frameworks and frequencies ^{[5] [6]}.

The question's framing implies that county line redistricting is a common occurrence, but the analyses indicate that electoral redistricting - which preserves existing county boundaries when possible - is what occurs regularly ^[5]. This suggests the question may be based on a misunderstanding of how the redistricting process actually works.

Additionally, the question lacks specificity about what constitutes "redistricting county lines," which could lead to misleading interpretations of the data even if historical information were available.