SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
What’s going on in Minnesota
Process
State Legislature
Minnesota's state legislative and congressional districts are drawn by the state Legislature by ordinary statute, and are subject to the Governor's veto. The Legislature can override vetoes with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
Criteria
In addition to the federal requirements of one person, one vote and the Voting Rights Act, Minnesota’s state constitution (Art. IV § 3) requires that state legislative and congressional districts be contiguous. State statute (Stat 2.91) also requires districts to preserve political subdivisions. In recent redistricting cycles, additional guidelines have been proposed and adopted by both the Legislature and courts, requiring districts to preserve communities of interest and prohibiting the intentional favoring or disfavoring of incumbents.
Public Input
In the 2011 redistricting cycle, the House Redistricting Committee held a series of public hearings between February and May 2011. A special judicial panel on redistricting held an additional 8 public meetings in October 2011, and a final public hearing on January 4, 2012. The panel also accepted map proposals from the public, with a special emphasis on identifying communities of interest.
In addition, there were strong citizen efforts to promote more public involvement in redistricting. Draw the Lines Minnesota held its own public hearings across the state in August 2011. Common Cause Minnesota organized a redistricting contest and offered redistricting tutorials to expand access to mapping tools and opportunities.
Issues
Pitfalls
Minnesota's entire Legislature is up for election in 2020 with the Senate leaning Republican by only three seats. If the Senate changes hands in November, that would create unified Democratic control over the redistricting process in 2021. Such trifectas with single-party control increase the risk of partisan gerrymandering.
Census Delays
- State legislative and congressional redistricting plan deadline: first general session after census (Art. IV § 3)
The Census Bureau may delay sending population data to states until as late as July 31, 2021. If the Minnesota provision is interpreted to mean after the census is taken, the deadline may be as soon as May 2021, which would make compliance impossible in the case of delay. If the provision is interpreted to mean after census data is received, then Minnesota will have ample time, but may need to hold a special session to complete redistricting before the 2022 elections.
Reform
HF 1605, and its companion bill SF 2575, would have created a nonpartisan advisory commission of five retired judges and twelve additional citizens to draw maps through an open and transparent process with significant public input. The bills were sponsored by Common Cause Minnesota. While HF 1605 passed the House in 2019, it was not enacted by the Senate. The bill was revised for the 2020 session, but died after the Legislature adjourned in May.
History
In the 2011 redistricting cycle, Governor Mark Dayton vetoed the Legislature’s state legislative and congressional redistricting plans, stating that they were designed to protect incumbents and failed to gain bipartisan support. After the Legislature failed to pass a plan by the deadline, the chief justice of the state Supreme Court created a five-member judicial redistricting panel. The panel accepted public map submissions along with proposals from both major parties. On February 21, 2012, the panel issued final plans for state legislative and congressional districts.
Actions
In 2020, prevent unified Democratic control and support state legislative candidates who favor fair districting.
In 2021, participate in the Legislature’s public input process.
- Obtain Minnesota redistricting data from OpenPrecincts.
- Start to plan out what defines your community – whether it’s a shared economic interest, school districts, or other social or other cultural, historical, or economic interests – and how that can be represented on a map. This will come in handy once the Legislature starts collecting feedback.
- Use software tools such as Dave's Redistricting App and Districtr to draw district maps showing either (a) what a fair map would look like, or (b) where the community you believe should be better represented is located.
Read the Common Cause Activist Handbook on Redistricting Reform to learn about what reforms have been successful in the past, and what steps to take to enact reform in the future. While the deadline to change the constitutional process for this redistricting cycle has passed, it is never too early to plan and organize for reforms.
Contacts
Data provided by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project