A bill for an act
relating to elections; providing principles and procedures related to the redistricting
of congressional and legislative districts; amending Minnesota Statutes 2020,
sections 2.031, by adding a subdivision; 2.731; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 2.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 2.031, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
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Legislative districts must be numbered in a regular series, beginning
with house district 1A in the northwest corner of the state and proceeding across the state
from west to east, north to south. In a county that includes more than one whole senate
district, the districts must be numbered consecutively.
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This section applies to both congressional and legislative
districts.
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Districts must not be drawn purposely to favor or disfavor a
political party, candidate, or incumbent.
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Districts must be drawn in accordance with the principles
listed in subdivisions 4 to 11. If districts cannot be drawn fully in accordance with all
principles, priority must be given to the principles in the order in which they are listed,
except when doing so would violate federal or state law.
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(a) Each congressional district must be as nearly equal
in population as practicable.
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(b) Each legislative district must be substantially equal in population. The population
of a legislative district must not deviate by more than two percent, plus or minus, from the
population of the ideal district.
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Each district must be convenient and contiguous.
A district is convenient if it allows reasonable ease of travel within the district. Contiguity
by water is sufficient if the water is not a serious obstacle to travel within the district. A
district with areas that touch only at a point is not contiguous.
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A representative district must not be divided in the formation of a
senate district.
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Districts must comply with the 14th and 15th
Amendments to the United States Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as
amended. Consistent with those laws, districts must provide racial, ethnic, and language
minorities an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect the candidate
of their choice. Racial, ethnic, and language minorities who constitute less than a voting-age
majority of a district must have an opportunity to substantially influence the outcome of an
election.
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Districts must minimize the division of identifiable
communities of interest. A community of interest may include a racial, ethnic, or linguistic
group or any group with shared experiences or concerns, including but not limited to
geographic, governmental, regional, social, cultural, historic, socioeconomic, occupational,
trade, or transportation interests. Communities of interest do not include relationships with
political parties, incumbents, or candidates.
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Districts must
minimize the division of counties, cities, towns, and federally recognized American Indian
reservations, except when:
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(1) the division occurs because a portion of a city, town, or reservation is not contiguous
with another portion of the same city, town, or reservation; or
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(2) despite the division, the known population of any affected county, city, town, or
reservation remains wholly located within a single district.
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Applicable judicial standards and the best available scientific
and statistical methods must be used to assess whether a plan unduly favors or disfavors a
political party, candidate, or incumbent.
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Districts must respect natural geographic
boundaries, including bodies of water and other significant geological and topographic
features.
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The Legislative Coordinating Commission
shall provide administrative support to the redistricting process.
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The geographic areas and population counts used in maps, tables,
and legal descriptions of congressional and legislative districts considered by the legislature
must be those used by the Geographic Information Services (GIS) Office of the Legislative
Coordinating Commission. The population counts shall be the block population counts
provided to the state under Public Law 94-171 after each decennial census, subject to
correction of any errors acknowledged by the United States Census Bureau and, to the extent
practicable, adjusted so that persons who are incarcerated are counted at their last known
residential address before incarceration. The GIS Office must make the database available
to the public on the GIS Office website.
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A redistricting plan must
not be considered for adoption by the senate or house of representatives until the redistricting
plan's block equivalency file has been submitted to the GIS Office in a form prescribed by
the GIS Office. The block equivalency file must show the district to which each census
block has been assigned. The GIS Office shall publish each plan submitted to it on the GIS
Office website.
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Publication of a plan must include the following reports:
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(1) a population equality report, listing each district in the plan, its population as the
total number of persons, and deviations from the ideal as both a number of persons and as
a percentage of the population. The report must also show the populations of the largest
and smallest districts and the overall range of deviations of the districts;
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(2) a contiguity report, listing each district that is noncontiguous either because two
areas of a district do not touch or because the districts are linked by a point;
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new text begin (3) a minority voting-ag