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Thursday, March 17, 2011

Census. Impact on Minnesota's congressional districts.

Redistricting will happen this legislative session, as I understand things. How legislative boundaries change is anyone's guess for now. The State Demographer announced census numbers that will govern balancing the Congressional districts, based on that date, to each contain equal numbers of persons [by head count not by voter numbers, i.e., those below voting age count in the balancing]. Here are two images, taken respectively from here and here:



The first image gives a short story of growth in the metro area. The numbers in the second image show how boundaries would need to be contracted or expanded in order to make present districts exactly balanced per the census data; i.e., those two districts "in the black" would need to contract by the amounts indicated via shifting into other bordering districts, while those in the red would be geographically expanded to achieve population balancing.

That scenario presumes no drastic redrawing of the congressional districts will happen, with only border adjustments for balance. Given legislators are who they are, there might be a wholesale redrawing, for political as well as demographic reasons.

Earlier reporting indicated that Minnesota will not lose a seat, instead retaining eight districts, (and our eight House votes in Congress). Were a seat to be lost, wholesale redrawing would be required. For the Duluth area's perspective on the census numbers, this link.

_____________UPDATE_____________
Minn. Progressive Project, here, Tony Yarusso posts a "what if" redristicting mapping exercise. It is worth reading. Go there.

A Yarusso earlier post, both here and here. (Anyone who supports single payer and assisted the John Marty campaign is one of those atop my all time good guy list. With Marty.)