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|
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
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