August 9, 2021

The Joint House and Senate Redistricting Committee met today to discuss proposed criteria for the 2021 redistricting process.

Senator Paul Newton, Co-Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee, presented the chairs’ proposed criteria for the 2021 redistricting process.

  • Equal population: The Committees will use the 2020 federal decennial census data as the sole basis of population for the establishment of districts in the 2021 Congressional, House and Senate plans. The number of persons in each legislative district shall be within plus or minus 5 percent of the ideal district population, as determined under the most recent federal decennial census. The number of persons in each congressional district shall be as nearly as equal as practicable, as determined under the most recent federal decennial census.
  • Contiguity: Legislative and congressional districts shall be comprised of contiguous territory. Contiguity by water is sufficient.
  • Counties, Groupings and Traversals: The Committees shall draw legislative districts within county groupings. Within county groupings, county lines shall not be traversed except as authorized. Division of counties in the 2021 Congressional plan shall only be made for reasons of equalizing population and consideration of double bunking. If a county is of sufficient population size to contain an entire congressional district within the county’s boundaries, the Committees shall construct a district entirely within that county.
  • Racial Data: Data identifying the race of individuals or voters shall not be used in the construction or consideration of districts in the 2021 Congressional, House and Senate plans.
  • VTDs: Voting districts (“VTDs”) should be split only when necessary.
  • Compactness: The Committees shall make reasonable efforts to draw legislative districts in the 2021 Congressional, House and Senate plans that are compact. In doing so, the Committee may use as a guide the minimum Reock (“dispersion”) and Polsby-Popper (“perimeter”) scores identified by Richard H. Pildes and Richard G. Neimi in Expressive Harms, “Bizarre Districts,” and Voting Rights: Evaluating Election-District Appearances After Shaw v. Reno, 92 Mich. L. Rev. 483 (1993).
  • Municipal Boundaries: The Committees may consider municipal boundaries when drawing districts in the 2021 Congressional, House and Senate plans.
  • Election Data: Partisan considerations and election results data shall not be used in the drawing of districts in the 2021 Congressional, House and Senate plans.
  • Member Residence: Member residence may be considered in the formation of legislative and congressional districts.
  • Community Consideration: So long as a plan complies with the foregoing criteria, local knowledge of the character of communities and connections between communities may be considered in the formation of legislative and congressional districts.

The committee will convene tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. to allow for public comment on the proposed criteria. Members of the public are invited to speak on the proposal at the meeting tomorrow and may sign up for a two-minute time slot here. The joint committees will meet again on Thursday morning to propose changes and vote on a final set of criteria for the redistricting process.