Rep. Marquart Explains Redistricting Process
Dilworth, MN — Every ten years following the completion of the US Census, the legislatures at both the state and federal levels go through a redistricting process to determine how many representatives a state will have and to get a more equal representation of population trends in each state. Minnesota has 134 House Districts and 74 Senate Districts. Gradually over time as populations have shifted towards the metro, Representative Paul Marquart says the rural districts are getting larger geographically and are losing their representation in the legislature.
The House and Senate are in charge of redrawing the district lines, however, the legislature in Minnesota is split between a Democrat controlled House and a Republican controlled Senate. Representative Marquart says the two have released two different plans, and it’ll likely be the State Supreme Court making the decision.
The courts will take both the House and Senate’s proposed district lines into consideration for their version, as well as geographic and cultural factors.
The US House of Representatives also released their proposed redistricting recently as well, where there will likely be some shake-up in what is currently District 7, according to Marquart.
Learn more about the redistricting process by listening to the full interview with Paul Marquart from the KRJB Kaleidoscope Program below: