Fact check: How many US states have their US congressional districts defined by an independent party? Of these, how many have partisan leadership of each side?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the provided analyses, the sources do not provide a comprehensive answer to the specific question about how many US states have congressional districts defined by independent parties. The analyses primarily focus on California, which is confirmed to have an independent redistricting commission that handles congressional district mapping after each census ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

The sources mention that redistricting processes vary significantly across states, with some having independent commissions while others operate under partisan leadership ^{[4] [1]}. However, they do not provide the exact number of states with independent redistricting or a breakdown of partisan leadership by party affiliation.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question seeks specific numerical data that the analyses do not adequately address. Key missing information includes:

• Complete inventory of all states with independent redistricting commissions
• Exact count of states with partisan vs. independent redistricting processes
• Breakdown of partisan leadership by Democratic and Republican control
• Definitions of what constitutes "independent" versus "partisan" redistricting

The analyses reveal an important political dynamic: Governor Gavin Newsom is attempting to override California's independent commission to create districts more favorable to Democrats, specifically to gain "five more seats in the U.S. House" ^{[1] [2] [3]}. This suggests that even states with independent commissions may face political pressure to abandon neutrality when partisan advantages are at stake.

The sources also indicate that redistricting has become a national political battleground, with states like Texas and California engaging in redistricting feuds ^[2], suggesting that both Democratic and Republican leadership benefit from maintaining or gaining control over the redistricting process.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement does not contain explicit misinformation, but it assumes the existence of comprehensive, readily available data about independent redistricting that the analyses suggest may not exist in a clear, standardized format. The question's framing implies that there is a clear distinction between "independent" and "partisan" redistricting processes, when the reality appears more complex.

The analyses reveal that even supposedly independent systems can be subject to political override, as demonstrated by Newsom's plan to temporarily bypass California's independent commission ^[3]. This suggests that the binary classification implied in the original question may oversimplify the actual redistricting landscape across US states.