This year's redistricting which will have major impacts upon the national political landscape for years to come (especially in the South). Here in South Carolina, the options presented aren't going to be easy ones to make. No matter how they're made, these decisions will result in major changes in the state's political landscape for years to come and will be the most important political decisions made this year.

To help readers understand this process, the Blogland's ongoing redistricting series will look at what is taking place, examine some of the key elements that will shape the maps, as well as consider who could be impacted by these changes.

While some big changes are likely in South Carolina, the way the process is playing out in other states will vary widely. Some of these experiences will have no relevance to what's happening here, but in other cases, they may point out options to consider this time or trends to watch for in the future.

The best one-stop point for looking at the redistricting game nationwide (that we've found) is Chris Cilliza's "Mapping the Future" series, which is part of his regular political commentary on the Washington Post's website. In this series, he looks at a number of states where redistricting may result in noticable changes or force some tough political decisions to be made.

It's worth checking it out.