The road for Idaho’s Commission for Reapportionment has faced challenges from COVID-19, worked to maintain tribal boundaries and continues on their path to set up representatives’ districts for the next election.
Every decade, a new census is conducted for state residents to calculate the population in each district. Each district consists of around 54,000 constituents to vote in Idaho elections. The Commission for the Reapportionment was established this past summer with three Democratic and three Republican members.
Groups in the past have sought to consolidate the districts into 30 instead of the standard 35. Rep. Caroline Nilsson-Troy, a Republican from Genessee, said there was concern over consolidation because of rural districts growing past capacity and being difficult to manage.
This led to the Idaho Supreme Court ruling to place an emphasis on county boundaries, meaning they should be connected by roads, according to Troy.
The process of creating new districts includes creating proposals of maps that could potentially be used.
Traditionally, Latah County has fewer voters than the typical 54,000 voters and is joined by Benewah County to form a district. Although, a recent map draft includes Latah joined with Nez Perce county, which would consist of half of Lewiston.
“The Lewiston residents are very frustrated by that because it’s their county seat and they’re splitting their city in half when they don’t necessarily have to use the city of Lewiston to make up those numbers,” Troy said.
Troy said it’s a puzzle for the commission to figure out how to pair up counties that have similar communities and to avoid breaking up school districts.
The census taken to determine Idaho’s population every 10 years faced obstacles created by COVID-19. Census takers had to post-pone surveying numbers because of social distancing guidelines and quarantine.
Troy said the census is typically finished by September with potential members of the Idaho legislature being required to file their interest by March 2021.
“You have to reside in your district in order to run for office in that district and you can see how quickly it has a cascading effect,” Troy said.
The re-districting commission hosted its first meeting in Boise after its formation. They are currently traveling to different areas in Idaho to receive input from constituents and learn what boundaries have the potential to be drawn.
Throughout the process, there has been advocacy from Idaho Native American tribes because of their desire to keep their tribal lands together in one congressional district.
The Nez Perce tribe spans across five counties, with members recently expressing frustration at a commission meeting, Troy said.
Troy said the commission has been thoughtful, keeping tribes in their considerations in the re-districting, although it will be a challenge for the reapportionment.
Markie McBrayer, a political science professor at the University of Idaho, said that groups of interest, are taken into consideration during the reapportionment process. Groups like the tribes are specifically listed.
Another issue during re-districting is the consolidation of two districts, with the original two incumbents from the old districts now running for the same seat.
“Ada County, I believe, is split and there’s some discretion about whether we continue on with split congressional districts,” McBrayer said.
The commission met last week in northern Idaho and is continuing its tour throughout the rest of the state.
Sierra Pesnell can be reached at [email protected]