Legislative Services Agency scheduled to release Plan 2 for redistricting on Thursday

DES MOINES — The second set of maps reconfiguring the boundaries of Iowa congressional and legislative district lines will be released on Thursday. The state has been lauded for its nonpartisan process, but there are concerns party priorities will get in the way and community-level activists urge policymakers to avoid that path.

The boundaries for legislative and congressional districts are redrawn every 10 years to account for population shifts identified in the latest U.S. Census. Unlike most other states, Iowa’s maps are drawn by the independent Legislative Services Agency. Republicans who control the legislature rejected the first set of maps earlier this month, saying the districts were not as geographically compact as possible.

Matthew Covington with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement warns about straying too far from the state’s general approach.  “Everyday Iowans are paying attention and they won’t forget, and that they will every two years show out at the polls to express how they feel that lawmakers jeopardized our nonpartisan redistricting process.”

Covington says ICCI remains hopeful it won’t get to the point of elected officials taking over the map-making. In the meantime, he hopes the legislature keeps the best interests of communities in mind as it moves forward. “We balance not only various constituencies in the state, but also both urban and rural interests. And again, that’s why it’s so important that the process we have is honored and politicians don’t get involved themselves.”

The legislature will meet in a special session on October 28th to vote on the new set of maps. The Iowa Supreme Court has given legislators leeway to follow Iowa’s redistricting rules, but has set December 1 as the deadline for completing the process.