Nevada�s Political Lineup

 

	1991	2001
Governor	D	R
State Senate	11D, 10R	9D, 12R
State House	22D, 20R	27D, 15R
US Senators	2D	2D
US Reps	1D, 1R	1D, 1R

Redistricting Deadline

The legislative reapportionment bill passed after much conflict on June 14, 2001.

Who�s in Charge of Redistricting?

The legislature. The Committee on Government Affairs is responsible for redistricting in the Senate. The Committee on Elections, Procedures and Ethics is responsible for redistricting in the assembly. Only one redistricting plan per caucus is allowed to be voted on by the full legislature. The governor has veto power over both the congressional and state legislative district plans.

Districting Principles
 

Principle	Congressional	State Legis.
Compactness	+	+
Contiguity		+
Political subdivisions	+	+
Communities of interest		+
Cores of prior districts
Protect incumbents
VRA � 5	+	+

+ = required           - = prohibited

Public Access

Limited public hearings were held in Las Vegas and possibly in the northern portion of the state. These hearings can also be accessed through videoconferencing. Public workstations will be set up in Las Vegas and in the Capitol for voters to construct their plans and submit them to their representatives. All redistricting information is also available online as part of the legislature's website.

Political Landscape

Districts shifted only slightly during the last cycle, but now Nevada will gain a third seat during this round of reapportionment. Currently, one district is safely Republican. The other, which comprises the Las Vegas area, has switched party control twice over the 1990s and is currently held by a Democrat. With the state legislature split, and with a Republican governor who has veto power, Nevadans might expect a fight over the third district, or conversely, parties might seek a compromise where each gets at least one �safe� district. Adding to this stress is the short, two-month time period in which the legislature has to complete all of its redistricting and the fact that Nevada is gaining a seat. The governor will be forced to call them into a special session if they fail to meet their deadline.