Due to shifts in population, every 10 years after the census results are released, congressional districts are redrawn in each state. Since the census results were just released in 2000, the federal government required that the states redraw their districts before the 2002 elections. According to the Redistricting Resource Center, the 43 states that have more than one congressional seat had to adjust their districts to account for population shifts within the state, even if they were not gaining or losing a seat. The most significant changes, however, took place in the 18 states gaining or losing seats.

Oct. 25,2001, H.R. NO. 4700 changed the Representative Districts to into 160 districts. One of the most significant redistricting initiatives for this election was the restoration of the Merrimac River Valley District and the division of only four communities between districts: Boston (between 8 and 9), Fall River (between 3 and 4), Wayland (between 5 and 7) and Hanson (between 9 and 10). No city or town has had any precincts split among districts.

According to the Redistricting Resource Center, the responsibility for drawing both state legislative and congressional districts was in hands of the primarily Democratic legislature. Acting governor, Jane Swift, had the power to veto the proposal, but the Democrats had enough votes to override the veto.

It also said that the population of Massachusetts grew by 5.5 percent between 1990 and 2000, which was enough to retain the state's 10 congressional districts. With an all- Democratic congressional delegation and a heavily democratic legislature, one would assume that the districts would not shift dramatically, allowing the

Democrats to retain their hold on the ten seats. But the Speaker of the House, Thomas Finneran, enacted a plan that moved 40 percent of the population into new districts and eliminated the fifth district in favor of a new, open southeast Massachusetts district. If the plan had been enacted, it would have put Marty Meehan in John Tierney's district. But, the legislature rejected Finneran's map and in turn, released a compromise on Dec. 3, 2000 that was supposed to be approved by Dec. 5 2000. While the state Senate passed the plan, the House ran out of time and passed the map in January.

According to current district boundaries, Brandeis is located in seventh congressional district and the Third Middlesex Senatorial district.