The first sets of redistricting maps that the Iowa Legislature will consider were recently released.
District 24 Senator Jesse Green, which includes all of Greene and Boone counties, along with portions of Webster, Hamilton and Story counties, explains his thoughts on finishing up his first year in the legislature and now having to go through redistricting.
“I just felt like I got my feet under me this past year. This summer I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to go to a lot of parades, meet more constituents, I’ve tried to go city council meetings as much as I can. As soon as I feel like I got a feel for the district, now all of a sudden, redistricting. So I’m nervous, excited, whatever, very emotion you can think of.”
The process of redistricting happens every ten years, following the new U.S. Census data. The first initial map that was released by the nonpartisan Legislative Service Agency, which is tasked to minimize gerrymandering and political influence.
Green notes that Governor Kim Reynolds will call a special legislative session in October and as per the Iowa Supreme Court, the deadline for the legislature to finalize a map is by December 1st.
“That’s going to allow the legislature to go through this properly. We have one of the best redistricting systems in the nation that everybody talks about, it’s very bi-partisan. So I appreciate that the Supreme Court is showing respect to the system and giving us a chance to do this the right way.”
Green adds there are only two Republican senators that have been through the previous redistricting from 2011. Click the link below to see the proposed congressional and state legislative boundaries are located.