North Dakota�s Political Lineup

Redistricting Deadline

The end of the first legislative session after census for state legislative districts.

Who�s in Charge of Redistricting?

The legislature. In the past, the legislature has formed a bi-partisan interim committee after the 2001 regular session of the Legislative Assembly to work on state legislative districts. A special session is usually called in the fall to enact the plan. The governor has veto power over the legislature�s plan.

Districting Principles 

  + = required               - = prohibited

Public Access

Well-publicized public hearings are a mainstay, but otherwise, no definite plans have been made to increase public access via the Internet. It is anticipated that proposed plans will be posted on the web for public viewing but no arrangements have been made toward this end. Citizens can only propose plans through their representatives.

Political Landscape

North Dakota continues to have a single, at-large U.S. House representative. 49 state legislative districts will be drawn, represented by one state senator and two state house members. Republicans will have monopoly control of redistricting after having to share redistricting authority in 1991.

Legal Issues

Native Americans challenged the North Dakota legislature's 1991 state legislative district plan on minority vote dilution grounds. The plaintiffs were unable to show that the Native American population in the targeted house district were compact enough to form a single district on their own, a requirement under Thornburg v. Gingles. The case was dismissed.

Legislation/Reform Efforts

Bills were introduced in the 2000 session that called for the use of single-member house districts instead of multi-seat district elections. None passed.