Will Independents have any influence on redrawn districts in the South?

[Fiendish Thingy]

3. If by independent you mean unaffiliated voters, absolutely

In many states, unaffiliated voters outnumber both republicans and democrats.

The only things that guide the partisan gerrymanderers are party registration, and the voting history of any particular precinct. Demographic information such as age, race, education can have some effect, but with the Trump-induced, Republican-enabled suffering spreading far and wide, crossing regional, racial and political boundaries, predicting the future behaviour of a particular group of voters in a particular area is going to get much more difficult.