(RALEIGH) -- Republican state lawmakers released revised congressional maps that would put several incumbent Democrats in the same district.

Reps. Brad Miller and David Price would be “double-bunked” in the new 4th District, which runs through portions of several counties in and around the Raleigh-Durham area. Reps. Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissell would both reside in the 8th District. U.S. House candidates are not required to live in the district they represent. However, those running outside of their home district would likely face a tougher political challenge.

Miller, who currently serves in the 13th District, lives in a Raleigh apartment that is located several hundred yards from the 4th District. The new maps put him on the other side of that boundary. Miller even joked that he would be able to “hit the 13th with a sand wedge.”

State Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, said mapmakers adjusted the boundaries of 1st District, currently held by Democratic Congressman G.K. Butterfield, to address concerns related to the federal Voting Rights Act. Lewis added that those changes caused a ripple-effect.

“It’s like a puddle of water almost – if you touch here, it’s going to move here and here,” said Lewis. “Eventually the moves get smaller, but they still move.”

An earlier version of the congressional maps included a portion of Wake County in Butterfield’s district. The latest proposal draws the 1st District into Durham County instead of Wake.

“That is a complete surprise,” said Butterfield. “I did not think nor expect that my district would go into Durham County. That is David Price’s base. That is his county that he has represented for many years.”

Democrats currently hold 7 of the 13 congressional seats, but the new maps could give Republicans a greater political advantage. Based on recent election results and party registration statistics, Republicans could likely pick up three additional seats. For example, former 2008 GOP presidential candidate John McCain would have easily won 10 districts and the closest margin would have been 9 percentage points. However, President Obama would have carried the remaining 3 districts by more than 40 percentage points.

Democrats accused mapmakers of splitting communities to gain a partisan advantage. “The current map makes a mockery of the notion that districts should be compact and include communities of interest,” Price said in a prepared statement.

But Republicans defended the proposal, including a decision to move most of Asheville out of the western-most district currently held by Democratic Congressman Heath Shuler. “We split almost every major metropolitan area in the state – or gave every major metropolitan area in the state two voices in the U.S. Congress and we treated Asheville the same way,”

State lawmakers are scheduled to discuss the new maps in committee later this week. New boundaries for congressional and legislative seats are expected get approval later this month.