Redistricting 101

presented byMike Dean, Common Cause Minnesota

Tonight’s conversation

• What?

• When?

• Why?

• Who?

• How?

• Q & A

What is redistricting?

• Every 10 years (at least), after the census

• Redrawing of district lines to ensure one voter, one vote

• Sorts voters into groups, distributes political power, combines or divides communities

What is redistricting?

Tonight’s conversation

• What?

• When?

• Why?

• Who?

• How?

• Q & A

April 1, 2010 ―

December 31, 2010―

January 10, 2011 ―

April 1, 2011 ―

May 23, 2011 ---

February 21, 2012 ―

April 2,

2012 ―

November 6 2012

―

When does redistricting happen?

Minnesota congressional and legislative lines drawn

Census count to President

Apportionment to U.S. HouseRedistricting data to states

Census Day

Precincts and city wards

Election Day.

End of legislative session

Tonight’s conversation

• What?

• When?

• Why?

• Who?

• How?

• Q & A

If you care about

representation, and you care

about political power,

then you care about

redistricting.

should

Why does redistricting matter?

Why does redistricting matter?

• Politicians choosing their voters

• Eliminating incumbents or challengers

• Diluting minority votes and splitting up communities

BarackObama’

shouse

Why does redistricting matter?

Tonight’s conversation

• What?

• When?

• Why?

• Who?

• How?

• Q & A

• In most states, including Minnesota, the state legislature draws their own and congressional district lines

• Some states have advisory commissions to suggest lines, backup commissions in case legislature can’t draw the lines, or political or independent commissions which draw all the lines.

Who draws the lines?

Tonight’s conversation

• What?

• When?

• Why?

• Who?

• How?

• Q & A

SenateAssembly

Not nested

Nested

Nesting

• Concerns the appearance of the district(or how close people live to each other)

Compactness

• All parts of the district are adjacent to each other

Contiguity

• Follow county / city / town / ward lines

• But may split populations in strange ways

Political Boundaries

Cracking Packing

Minority Representation

• Social interests• Cultural interests• Racial / ethnic interests• Economic / trade interests • Geographic interests• Communication and

transportation networks• Media markets• Urban and rural interests• Occupations and lifestyles

Communities of Interest

Two primary models:

• Prohibition on undue favoritism

• Affirmatively encourage competition

Partisanship and competition

• Politicians choosing their voters• Incumbent neutrality• Equal numbers of Democrats

and Republicans

BarackObam

a’shouse

2000

2002

Remember: Competition can take different forms

Current Criteria in Minnesota• Population equality

– No deviation for Congressional districts

– 2% maximum for Legislative districts

• Minority rights– Increase minority

representation when possible

• Compactness– General requirement, not

defined or well enforced• Competition

– No rules

• Statewide partisan balance– No rules

• Preserving political boundaries– Should be done when

possible• Communities of interest

– Should be preserved; not pre-defined

• Nesting– House districts must be

nested in Senate districts

Tonight’s conversation

• What?

• When?

• Why?

• Who?

• How?

• Q & A

www.drawminneapolis.org

Thank you!