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GOP-led panel to redraw North Dakota redistricting maps
By JAMES MacPHERSONJune 9, 2021 GMT
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Republicans, who vastly outnumber Democrats in the Legislature, will lead a committee to redraw North Dakota’s legislative districts this year, a task that will influence the political balance of power for the next decade.
A redistricting committee of 14 Republicans and two Democrats was picked Wednesday during a meeting of Legislative Management, a 17-member GOP-led panel of lawmakers that handles the Legislature’s business between sessions.
A seat on the redistricting committee is always competitive because it decides potentially new areas that lawmakers will represent, and 95 of the Legislature’s 141 members applied. Members were chosen based on recommendations from party leaders.
The GOP-controlled committee, which includes 14 Republicans and two Democrats, holds the influential role of redrawing North Dakota's legislative districts for the next decade. The state’s population has increased substantially over the last decade, and this year's redistricting is expected to see some seats shift from rural to urban areas.