Minnesota received positive news from the 2020 Census that our state will retain all eight congressional seats. Additional Census data will be forthcoming to provide information to the legislature to begin the process of redistricting or the drawing of new legislative maps to reflect geographic changes in population. Each state senate district in Minnesota currently comprises approximately 79,000 constituents and will need to be adjusted to rebalance all 67 districts.
The State Government Finance Committee recently heard legislation to establish redistricting principles to guide the redrawing of congressional and legislative maps. A Senate DFL proposal provides a statement of purpose that says legislative districts should be created using a fair and open process that limits the ability of legislators to draw districts that favor themselves or their party and should be as free from political bias as possible.
The Senate DFL prioritizes the principle that districts must not be drawn with the purpose or effect of dispersing or concentrating Black people, Indigenous people, People of Color, or members of a language minority group and must comply with the 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution and Voting Rights Act of 1965. We also support principles that preserve communities of interest which may include an ethnic or language group or any group with shared experiences or concerns. (SF 2308)
