Iowa's Redistricting
Information

Iowa's Redistricting News

All information below is from early 2001

Iowa�s Political Lineup
 

 

1991

2001

Governor

R

D

State Senate

30D, 20R

30R, 20D

State House

61D, 39R

56R, 44D

US Senators

1D, 1R

1D, 1R

US Reps

4R, 2D

4R, 1D

Redistricting Deadline

On June 22, 2001, Iowa became one of the first states in the nation to have enacted both a state legislative redistricting plan and a congressional redistricting plan. On June 19, 2001, House File 758, the bill embodying the second proposed redistricting plan submitted by the Legislative Service Bureau, passed the Iowa House of Representatives on a vote of 78-18, and passed the Iowa Senate on a vote of 37-13. Governor Tom Vilsack signed the bill into law on June 22, 2001.

Who�s in Charge of Redistricting?

The legislature has the final responsibility for enacting both congressional and state legislative district plans, but the nonpartisan Legislative Services Bureau has initial responsibility. It must develop up to three plans that can be accepted or rejected by the legislature. The plans are criteria-driven, meaning that the bureau draws districts based on clear, measurable criteria.

The four criteria, in descending order of importance are: 1) population equality; 2) contiguity; 3) unity of counties and cities (maintaining county lines and �nesting� house districts within senate districts and senate districts within congressional districts); and 4) compactness. A five-member commission consisting of four civilian members chosen by each caucus in the legislature, and a fifth chairperson chosen by the commission, is responsible for advising the bureau, but only upon their request. If the legislature does not approve the first three plans by the bureau, it must itself approve a plan by September 1st, or the state supreme court will take responsibility for the state districts. The Governor has veto power over both plans.

Districting Principles

Principle

Congressional

State Legis.

Compactness

+

+

Contiguity

+

+

Political sub.

+

+

Communities

 

 

District cores

 

 

Incumbents

--

--

VRA � 5

 

 

+ = required                -- = prohibited        a = allowed

Public Access

Three public hearings are required to be held on the first proposed plan from the Legislative Services Bureau. Paper maps are also available from Legislative Services. In addition, the General Assembly has redistricting plans and information online.

The Des Moines Register has posted some very detailed maps on their website showing Iowa's new districts.

Political Landscape

The redistricting process in Iowa is uniquely nonpartisan, at least for the first three proposed plans by the Legislative Services Bureau. The legislature has been quick to accept the LSB�s plans even when they have placed incumbent state legislative leaders and congressional members in very competitive districts. The Democratic-controlled legislature approved a non-partisan plan in 1991 that left it vulnerable to competition; the Republicans now control both houses and four of five House seats.

The fact that the governor is a Democrat makes it more likely that the Republican-controlled legislature will accept one of the Legislative Services Bureau plans. The legislature did reject the first plan developed by the commission for congressional districts, but accepted the second plan even though it also will force some current Republican incumbents to run in new districts.

Legal Issues

An organization called Iowans Against Gerrymandering filed suit in 1992 against the Iowa Legislative Council for access to the state's geographical, political, and population databases. The court rejected the claim based on the commercial vendor's trade secret interests in the unique way that the three sets of data are overlayed and interrelated. The court also noted that all three types of data are readily available via public sources.

Legislation/Reform Efforts

The Iowa method of redistricting has not been significantly changed since 1980, but the 1980 reform bears mention, given that many reformers applaud Iowa�s districting model. The legislature significantly reformed its legislative and congressional redistricting process after a court challenge in the 1970�s resulted in the state Supreme Court redrawing malapportioned legislative district lines. The provisions in chapter 42 of the Iowa code detail a complete statutory process for the nonpartisan development of redistricting plans.

The centerpiece of the redistricting provisions are the redistricting principles which specifically forbid the use of political affiliation, previous election results, the addresses of incumbents, or any demographic information other than population. See �who�s in charge of redistricting� for more information.


Irregularly Shaped District
None.

 

Contact Information

Ed Cook
Legal Counsel
Legislative Service Bureau
State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319
515/281-3994
515/281-8027 Fax
[email protected]

Gary Rudicil
Senior Computer Systems Analyst Legislative Service Bureau
State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319
515/242-5925
515/281-8027 Fax
[email protected]

 

For more information:

National Committee for an Effective Congress' Redistricting Resource: Iowa
-Overview
-Detailed analysis, including new congressional map

EMILY's List Congressional Redistricting Report: Iowa
-Overview
-Iowa Redistricting Chronicle

Glossary

Redistricting Provisions 2000

 



top 
      of page

______________________________________________________________________
Copyright � 2001 The Center for Voting and Democracy
6930 Carroll Ave. Suite 610    Takoma Park, MD  20912
(301) 270-4616 ____ [email protected]