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State Representative Jeanne Poppe
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4193
For more information contact: Jenny Nash 651-296-4122
NEWS COLUMN
REDISTRICTING: CONGRESSIONAL AND LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS RE-DRAWN FOR NEXT DECADE
Special Redistricting Panel released new maps
Every 10 years a new United States census is taken. The new population figures are used to re-draw district lines for Minnesota's Congressional and legislative districts to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that all districts must be approximately equal in population. The last census showed that Minnesota's population grew 7.8 percent from 2000 to 2010. The growth in total population results in new political boundaries being drawn that reflect the change in where the population is located. When redistricting happens it means geographic areas grow or shrink in an attempt to equally distribute the population and adhere to the one-person/one-vote requirement of the Constitution.
Although the numbers of state legislators (representatives and senators) remains the same, the boundaries are adjusted to equalize the numbers of people within each district. The census reports our state’s current population is 5,303,925 which means the ideal population is 79,163 for Minnesota Senate districts, 39,582 for Minnesota House districts, and 662,991 for Congressional districts.
This week, the much-anticipated state legislative and Congressional redistricting maps were released. The task of preparing a valid plan became the legal responsibility of the Special Redistricting Panel since the Legislature and Governor could not agree on a redistricting plan. The chief justice of the Supreme Court, Lorie Gildea, appointed a five-judge panel to lead the map-drawing process. These judges came from throughout the state and had been originally appointed to the bench by four different governors.
One of the more surprising outcomes was the number of “paired" districts and the number of “open” districts. In the state House, a total number of 31 members have been paired in redrawn districts. Of these pairings, six pair incumbent Democrats, seven pair incumbent Republicans, and three pair a Democrat and a Republican incumbent. In addition, there are now 15 open seats with no incumbent legislator. In the state Senate, a total of 16 members were paired in the new districts. Of these pairings, four pair Republican incumbents, two pair Democratic incumbents, and two pair a Democrat and a Republican incumbent. In the Senate, there are now eight open seats with no incumbent legislator.
In the Final Order released with the re-drawn maps, the judges utilized a “least-change” strategy where feasible and attempted to respect city, county and township boundaries. In addition, the Order said the judges tried to preserve "communities of interest" where possible by, for example, keeping Mankato, North Mankato and St. Peter in a shared Senate district and keeping the bulk of Rochester in two adjacent House districts (now numbered as 25B and 26A).
Generally speaking, the redrawn Congressional districts saw less dramatic change to equalize population. One significant difference between state legislators and those who serve us on the federal level is Congressional representatives do not need to live within the district they represent. Although that is rarely seen in Minnesota, it did create a stir when the map put both Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann and Congresswoman Betty McCollum in the same district based on where they currently live.
Another of the interesting surprises of the map from the Court was that the numbering system means the current Senate District 27 remains Senate District 27, with House districts 27A and 27B. That seemed to be a fluke since many legislative districts throughout the state changed numbers. The new House district 27B will include the bulk of Mower County picking up the cities of Adams, Lyle, Rose Creek, and Elkton and five southwestern townships but will shed Udolpho Township in northwestern Mower County. That allows for the new House district 27A to pick up a couple of townships in southern Dodge County and keeps the district contiguous which is a requirement of the map-making. The new 27B district also means Fillmore County will no longer be a part of the future District 27B, but Vernon Township in Dodge County and London Township in Freeborn County will be.
The Special Redistricting Panel plans can be found at: http://www.mncourts.gov/?page=4469 and detailed legislative maps are posted on the Legislative Coordinating Commission's Geographic Information Services website at: http://www.gis.leg.mn/html/redistricting.html.
News Items
- POPPE SELECTED AS AGRICULTURE POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIR - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- Rep. Jeanne Poppe Encourages High School Juniors to Apply for Minnesota House of Representatives Page Program - Application Deadline is November 19th - (Posted: 2012-11-12 00:00:00)
- HORMEL INSTITUTE EXPANSION SIGNED INTO LAW - 2012 legislative session adjourns sine die - (Posted: 2012-05-11 00:00:00)
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