Tag: congressional redistricting

‘The Legislature has proved … they’re not capable of getting the job done’: How redistricting is likely to happen in Minnesota

A Q&A with Peter Wattson, a redistricting expert and lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state, about the state’s history of redistricting — and what he expects to happen between now and next February, when state law requires Minnesota to have a new political map.

Last week’s release of state-by-state population numbers by the U.S. Census was the official, if belated, kickoff of redistricting season. While Minnesota was able to hold onto all eight of its current seats in Congress, the state won’t be able to begin rebalancing the populations of those districts — or state legislative districts — until late summer, when more detailed data is released.

These delays will make it more difficult for the state Legislature to redraw its political maps by a February 2022 deadline, even if the court, and not the Legislature, has long been the decider in Minnesota. A lawsuit filed in February began the state down that path, arguing that current lines are unconstitutional because of their unequal populations and asking the court to begin the process of drawing new ones.

Peter Wattson is the lead plaintiff in that suit. No stranger to redistricting law and politics, Wattson was a state Senate staff member assigned to the redistricting process and served as counsel in 2011 to then-Gov. Mark Dayton during his redistricting battles. Now retired, Wattson remains involved in redistricting law. MinnPost talked to Wattson about the current lawsuit, the state’s history of redistricting and what he expects to happen between now and next February, when state law requires Minnesota to have a new political map. Continue reading.

New electoral districts are coming – an old approach can show if they’re fair

When the results of the 2020 U.S. Census are released, states will use the figures to draw new electoral district maps for the U.S. House of Representatives and for state legislatures. This process has been controversial since the very early days of the nation – and continues to be so today.

Electoral district maps designate which people vote for which seat, based on where they live. Throughout history, these maps have often been drawn to give one party or another a political advantage, diluting the power of some people’s votes.

In the modern era, advanced math and computer algorithms are regularly used to analyze potential district boundaries, making it easier to spot these unfairnesses, called gerrymandering. But there is a simpler way – and it’s based on a system used early in the country’s history. Continue reading.

Rematches key to control of the Minnesota Legislature

The contest for control of the Minnesota Legislature is underway, and several of the campaigns for House and Senate seats feature candidates who have run against each other in previous elections. 

Take, for example, the matchup in House District 5A in northern Minnesota, which is between two candidates who know each other well.

Back in 2016, Rep. John Persell, DFL-Bemidji, lost his reelection bid to Matt Bliss of Pennington. Persell ran again two years later and defeated Bliss, but not by much. He won by just 11 votes Continue reading.

It’s Not Just the White House in 2020. The Power to Draw Maps Is Also at Stake.

New York Times logoDALLAS — Only hours after the United States Supreme Court said it could do nothing to stop partisan gerrymandering of the nation’s political maps, Eric H. Holder Jr. had a message for his fellow Democrats in downtown Dallas.

“Texas is a place where we have to win,” Mr. Holder, who served as attorney general during Barack Obama’s presidency, said last week. “This is doable. This is possible.”

Mr. Holder was not talking about the 2020 presidential election. He was not talking about a congressional race. He was talking about the nine seats Democrats would need to flip to wrest control of the Texas House of Representatives and gain a voice in the redistricting process.

View the complete July 5 article by Mitch Smith and Timothy Williams on The New York Times website here.