Redistricting in Vermont after the 2010 census

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| Note: Redistricting takes place every 10 years after completion of the United States Census. The information here pertains to the 2010 redistricting process. For information on more recent redistricting developments, see this article.

|

Redistricting in Vermont

General information
Partisan control:
Democrat
Process:
Legislative authority, advisory commission
Deadline:
None
Total seats
Congress:

State Senate:

State House:
150

This article details the timeline of redistricting events in Vermont following the 2010 census. It also provides contextual information about the redistricting process and census information.

Between 2000 and 2010, Vermont's population grew by 2.8%, around one-third of the national average. Since Vermont had only one Congressional seat, only the state's legislative districts had to be redrawn following the census.

## Contents

* 1 Process
* 2 Leadership
* 2.1 Reapportionment board
* 2.2 Meetings
* 3 Census Results
* 4 Legislative redistricting
* 4.1 June 2011: Board votes for single-member districts
* 4.2 June 2011: Senate map error discovered
* 4.3 July 2011: Civil authority boards oppose single-member proposals
* 4.4 August 2011: Board approves final plan recommendations
* 4.5 October 2011: Existing house plan to serve as baseline
* 4.5.1 January 2012: Committee begins work
* 4.6 April 2012: House, Senate at odds on map
* 4.7 April 2012: Senate approves legislative plan
* 4.8 April 2012: House concurs, final maps approved
* 5 History
* 5.1 2001 redistricting
* 5.1.1 Deviation from Ideal Districts
* 5.1.2 Lawsuits related to the 2000 Census
* 6 Ballot measures
* 7 See also
* 8 External links
* 9 Footnotes

## Process[edit]

See also: State-by-state redistricting procedures

During the 2010 redistricting cycle, the Vermont Legislative Apportionment Board was responsible for drafting the state's legislative maps. The Vermont State Legislature was responsible for approving the maps and was allowed to make modifications to the proposed plans.

Legislative Apportionment Board members were appointed as follows:[1]

* One selected by the Chief Justice of the  Vermont Supreme Court, served as Chair/Special Master
* One selected by the Governor from each of the major* parties (Republican, Democratic, Progressive)
* One selected by each of the major* party chairs (Republican, Democratic, Progressive)

* Parties were considered major if they had more than three members in the legislature in three of the previous five legislative sessions.

The Legislative Department article of the Vermont Constitution stated that the General Assembly "shall afford equality of representation" and "seek to maintain geographical compactness and contiguity and to adhere to boundaries of counties and other existing political subdivisions" for the state house in Section 13 and for the state senate in Section 18.

The redistricting process was detailed in Title 17, Chapter 34 of the Vermont Statutes, entitled Periodic Reapportionment.[2]

## Leadership[edit]

### Reapportionment board[edit]

The seven-member Vermont Legislative Apportionment Board was led by special master and chairman Tom Little. The other members were:[3]

* Meg Brooks
* Steve Hingtgen
* Frank Cioffi
* Gerry Gossens
* Rob Roper
* Neale Lunderville

The board had to have a final Senate plan by July 1, 2011, and a final House plan by August 15, 2011.[4]

### Meetings[edit]

Vermont’s House Government Operations Committee hosted a series of public hearings on redistricting to gather public input on new maps. In early October 2011, the House committee decided to abandon the Legislative Apportionment Board’s plans—designed to create more single-member districts—and work from existing maps. The committee conducted these hearings in November 2011 and December 2011.[5]

* A schedule of the Government Operations Committee's meetings can be found here.
* A schedule of the Legislative Apportionment Board's meetings (now completed) can be found here.

## Census Results[edit]

Detailed 2010 Census data was released by the U.S. Census Bureau on February 10, 2011. It included information on population totals and demographic characteristics.[6] The new target population was 4,172 for House districts and 20,858 for Senate districts. Following the 2000 census, the target populations were 4,059 and 20,294, respectively.[4]

This table shows the change in population in the five largest cities and towns in Vermont from 2000-2010.

City/town  | 2000 Population[7] | 2010 Population  | Percent change

|
|
|

Burlington  | 38,889  | 42,417  | 9.1%
Essex  | 18,626  | 19,587  | 5.2%
South Burlington  | 15,814  | 17,904  | 13.2%
Colchester  | 16,986  | 17,067  | 0.5%
Rutland  | 17,292  | 16,495  | -4.5 %

This table shows the change in population in the five largest counties in Vermont from 2000-2010.

County  | 2000 Population[8] | 2010 Population  | Percent change

|
|
|

Chittenden  | 146,571  | 156,545  | 6.8%
Rutland  | 63,400  | 61,642  | -2.8%
Washington  | 58,039  | 59,534  | 2.6%
Windsor  | 57,418  | 56,670  | -1.3%
Franklin  | 45,417  | 47,746  | 5.1 %

## Legislative redistricting[edit]

### June 2011: Board votes for single-member districts[edit]

On June 9, 2011, Vermont’s Legislative Apportionment Board voted 4-3 to eliminate nearly all of the state’s multi-member districts, selecting a draft plan containing 138 individual House districts and only 5 multi-member districts.[9][10]

* The single-member draft plan can be found here.

### June 2011: Senate map error discovered[edit]

In June 2011, a mistake was discovered in the Senate map. According to the Vermont Constitution, there could be only 30 senators, but the new map the Apportionment Board created had 31 members. In order to alleviate the problem, the Board removed a seat from Northeast Kingdom, which would make Orleans a single-seat district. At the time, Vincent Illuzzi (R) and Robert Starr (D) represented that district.[11][12]

* The final, corrected Senate plan can be found here.

### July 2011: Civil authority boards oppose single-member proposals[edit]

At least two local boards of civil authority voted to oppose the Apportionment Board's elimination of multi-member districts within their local area. In Montpelier, district lines were redrawn in order to create two districts without displacing any incumbents. However, because the city's two incumbents lived on the same street, the resulting lines were seen by the local board as confusing. Bennington also opposed the plan, arguing that stable local population growth meant that no change was necessary for their district. While these votes were not binding, they were submitted to the legislature for consideration along with the Board's redistricting plan.[13][14]

As of August 3, 2011, the Apportionment Board had received feedback from 142 Boards of Civil Authority. The apportionment board used this feedback in its final decision regarding single-member districts. The board had to make its final recommendations by August 15, 2011. All of the letters can be found here.

### August 2011: Board approves final plan recommendations[edit]

Despite a preliminary plan that eliminated nearly-all of the state's two-member districts, the Legislative Apportionment Board decided on August 11, 2011, to adopt a revised plan that left more multi-member districts in place.

The final plan reduced the number of two-member districts in the state from 42 to 29. However, the board's plan was advisory, and lawmakers could choose to adopt the plan or make their own changes. The board approved a senate plan earlier in July 2011. The legislature considered the board's recommendations in January of 2012.[15]

* The final House plan can be found here.

### October 2011: Existing house plan to serve as baseline[edit]

The House Government Operations Committee announced it would use the state’s existing districts as a baseline as it redrew the state’s House districts. The legislature planned on using the board’s maps as reference.[16]

#### January 2012: Committee begins work[edit]

As of January 10, 2012 Vermont's House Government Operations Committee began the process of redrawing district boundaries for the chamber. The committee hoped to complete its final plans by the end of January.[17]

### April 2012: House, Senate at odds on map[edit]

On April 10, 2012, the Vermont House of Representatives approved a chamber redistricting map by a 126-10 vote. The map proceeded to the Senate where a committee revised the House-drawn plan. The changes increased the deviation from ideal district size, modifying district lines in Bennington County, Charlotte, and Hinesburg. The chair of the Vermont Republican Party threatened to sue if deviations were above 18%—a figure already exceeded before the Senate's modifications. The chair of the House Government Operations Committee (that oversees redistricting for the chamber) said the House would oppose the Senate revisions.[18][19]

### April 2012: Senate approves legislative plan[edit]

On April 20, 2012, the Vermont State Senate approved legislative redistricting maps for the House and Senate. However, disagreements still persisted between the two chambers over the maps. The plans headed to a conference committee where lawmakers hoped to iron out their differences. The approved plan had a population deviation of 18.2% for the Senate and 24% for the House.[20][21]

* The Senate-approved Senate plan can be found here.
* The Senate-approved House plan can be found here.

### April 2012: House concurs, final maps approved[edit]

On April 30, 2012, the Vermont House of Representatives concurred with the Senate on H. 789, which redrew the state's legislative districts. The Senate's proposed changes were scaled back. The new plan added a seat to the Burlington area and paired Dennis Devereux (R) and Eldred French (D) in a single district.[22] Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) signed the new maps on May 1.

## History[edit]

Until 1836, Vermont had a unicameral legislature where each town was given one representative. That year saw the addition of the Vermont State Senate, which was to have 30 members with districts based on population. Despite calls by larger towns for more equal reapportionment of the House, constitutional conventions were based on the one town-one vote system, which allowed small towns to retain the system.

Due to these and other factors, there was absolutely no change in House districts for nearly a century, from 1870 until the 1960s. By this time the Vermont House, with its 246 members, was the most imbalanced lower chamber in the country. At this time the smallest district had a population of 38 and the largest a population of 35,531, with each allotted one representative.

In 1964, the U.S. District Court in Buckley v. Hoff ordered the Vermont State Legislature to reapportion by July 1, 1965. This effort was led by a blue ribbon appointed by the governor as well as a legislative study commission on reapportionment. The legislature eventually compromised on reducing the House to 150 members and keeping the Senate at 30. House districts were divided into 72 initial districts. Of these, 31 were single member districts made up of two or more towns, 22 two-member districts made up of two or more towns, and 19 made up of larger cities and towns. In 1965, the legislature also created the Legislative Apportionment Board.[23]

### 2001 redistricting[edit]

#### Deviation from Ideal Districts[edit]

2000 Population deviation[24]

Office  | Percentage
Congressional Districts  | N/A
State House Districts  | 18.99%
State Senate Districts  | 14.28%
Under federal law, districts may vary from an Ideal District by up to 10%, though the lowest number achievable is preferred. Ideal Districts are computed through simple division of the number of seats for any office into the population at the time of the Census.

#### Lawsuits related to the 2000 Census[edit]

There was one lawsuit related to the Vermont 2000 census redistricting process.[25]

* In re Reapportionment of Towns of Woodbury and Worcester, 2004 VT 92, 177 Vt. 556, 861 A.2d 1117 (Sep. 13, 2004) : Citizens from the towns of Woodbury and Worcester challenged the Legislature’s 2002 reapportionment of voting districts for the state House, arguing that placement of their towns in the new Lamoille-Washington-1 district violated constitutional requirements for compactness and contiguity. The court noted that petitioners had not come forward with a better plan, and as such, had not met the burden required to successfully challenge a legislative reapportionment plan.

## Ballot measures[edit]

The following measures have appeared on the Vermont ballot pertaining to redistricting.

* Vermont Congressional Redistricting Amendment (1986) a
* Vermont Legislative Redistricting and Size Amendment (1974) a

## See also[edit]

* State Legislative and Congressional Redistricting after the 2010 Census
* State-by-state redistricting procedures

## External links[edit]

* Vermont Legislative Apportionment Board 2010

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Vermont Secretary of State, "The Process," January 26, 2011
2. ↑ Vermont Statutes Online, "Title 17: Elections"
3. ↑ Burlington Free Press, "The legislative redistricting process in Vermont begins with an advisory commission," February 15, 2011
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Burlington Free Press, "Census may affect legislative districts," February 27, 2011
5. ↑ Burlington Free Press, "Vermont House panel gathers views on redistricting," October 31, 2011
6. ↑ PR Newswire, "U.S. Census Bureau Delivers Vermont's 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting," February 10, 2011
7. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "American FactFinder - Vermont - Place and County Subdivision
8. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "American FactFinder - Vermont - County
9. ↑ True North Reports, "Legislative Apportionment Board votes to eliminate 2-member house districts," June 10, 2011
10. ↑ Daily Journal, "Vt. panel suggests new 150, single-member state lawmaker districts," June 10, 2011
11. ↑ Vermont Digger, "Vermont Senate redistricting plan eliminates NEK seat," June 30, 2011
12. ↑ Fox 44 "Vermont Redistricting," June 29, 2011
13. ↑ Green Mountain Daily, "Breaking--Montpelier Board Rejects District Split," July 19, 2011
14. ↑ Bennington Banner, "Legislative district changes opposed," July 18, 2011
15. ↑ VT DIGGER, "Final Apportionment Board plan increases number of single-seat districts," August 12, 2011
16. ↑ Rutland Herald, "New lines based on current districts," October 7, 2011
17. ↑ Burlington Free Press, "Committee in Vermont House faces mapping challenge," January 10, 2012
18. ↑ Burlington Free Press, "Lawsuit threatened over Vermont redistricting," April 10, 2012
19. ↑ Burlington Free Press, "Senate wants changes in House redistricting plan," April 13, 2012
20. ↑ Burlington Free Press, "Vermont Senate endorses redistricting plans," April 20, 2012
21. ↑ VT Digger, "Senate moves ahead with House redistricting plan," April 20, 2012
22. ↑ VT Digger, "Digger Tidbit: Redistricting map finished," April 30, 2012
23. ↑ Policy Archive, "Reapportionment Politics: The History of Redistricting in the 50 States," Rose Institute of State and Local Government, January 1981 (pg.323-330)
24. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, “Redistricting 2000 Population Deviation Table”," accessed February 1, 2011
25. ↑ Minnesota State Senate, "2000 Redistricting Case Summaries"

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