Redistricting is the process of enacting new congressional and state legislative district boundaries. Upon completion of the 2020 census, Iowa will draft and enact new district maps. This article chronicles the 2020 redistricting cycle in Iowa.
Iowa's four United States representatives and 150 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.
On November 4, 2021, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed new congressional and state legislative maps into law after the state's Legislative Services Agency had proposed them on October 21, 2021. The Iowa legislature approved the maps on October 28, 2021, by a vote of 48-1 in the state Senate and 93-2 in the state House.[1] The legislature could only vote to approve or reject the maps and could not make any amendments. These maps take effect for Iowa's 2022 congressional and legislative elections. Click here for more information.
See the sections below for further information on the following topics:
This section lists major events in the post-2020 census redistricting cycle in reverse chronological order. Major events include the release of apportionment data, the release of census population data, the introduction of formal map proposals, the enactment of new maps, and noteworthy court challenges. Click the dates below for additional information.
On November 4, 2021, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed new congressional and state legislative maps into law after the state's Legislative Services Agency had proposed them on October 21, 2021. The Iowa legislature approved the maps on October 28, 2021, by a vote of 48-1 in the state Senate and 93-2 in the state House.[1] The legislature could only vote to approve or reject the maps and could not make any amendments. These maps take effect for Iowa's 2022 congressional and legislative elections.
Upon signing the maps, Gov. Reynolds issued the following statement, "Today I signed the bipartisan redistricting maps into law. I am confident in how the process played out—just as the law intended, and I believe these new districts will fairly and accurately represent the citizens of Iowa for the next decade."[2] Bloomberg Government's Greg Giroux said this about Iowa's congressional redistricting plan, "The map, drafted by the state’s nonpartisan legislative agency, created three districts where Donald Trump would’ve narrowly defeated Joe Biden in the 2020 election and a fourth that’s heavily Republican...The map paired the homes of Reps. Cindy Axne (D) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) in the politically competitive 3rd District, which takes most of its population from Axne’s current district in and around Des Moines."[3]
This map takes effect for Iowa’s 2022 congressional elections.
This map takes effect for Iowa’s 2022 legislative elections.
This map takes effect for Iowa’s 2022 legislative elections.
After the legislature approved the maps on October 28, 2021, Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver (R) said, "Despite years of fear-mongering about gerrymandering and claims the first map could not be improved, the Iowa Senate followed the process outlined in Iowa Code, and a more compact map with better population differences has been approved."[4] Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls (D), who had objected to Republican legislators' rejection of the Legislative Services Agency's first proposal, said after the legislature approved the final maps, "it would have been a lot easier if they had just said that they weren't going to gerrymander."[4]
The Legislative Services Agency prepares redistricting plans for approval by the Iowa State Legislature. According to All About Redistricting, the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) consists of "civil servants committed to nonpartisanship and otherwise charged with tasks like legal and fiscal analysis of state legislation and state government oversight." The LSA is assisted by an advisory commission, which consists of the following members:[5]
The members of this commission cannot "hold partisan public office or an office in a political party, and none may be a relative or employee of a federal or state legislator (or the legislature as a whole)."[5]
Working with this independent commission, the LSA drafts congressional and state legislative district lines. The maps are presented as a single bill to the state legislature, which may approve or reject the bill without altering it (the legislature can provide feedback). If the legislature rejects the plan, the LSA must draft a second proposal. If the legislature rejects the second proposal, the LSA must draft a third, and final, set of maps. If the legislature rejects this plan, it may then approve its own maps. Since the implementation of this process in 1980, the state legislature has never chosen not to approve an LSA proposal. Redistricting plans are also subject to gubernatorial veto. In addition, the legislature may repeal or revise the maps at any time, though it has never done so.[5]
State law establishes the following criteria for both congressional and state legislative districts:[5]
In addition, state House districts are required to be contained within state Senate districts "where possible, and where not in conflict with the criteria above." It is explicit in state law that district lines cannot be drawn "to favor a political party, incumbent, or other person or group."[5]
On October 21, 2021, the Iowa Legislative Services Agency (LSA) released its second proposed congressional and state legislative maps.[6] The Iowa legislature approved these maps on October 28, 2021.[1] The state Senate voted to approve them, 48-1, and the state House approved them, 93-2.[1]
The draft maps and redistricting plan report can be viewed below:
Proposed state Senate districts
Proposed state House districts
On September 16, 2021, the Iowa Legislative Services Agency (LSA) released its first draft congressional and state legislative maps.[7][8] The Iowa State Senate voted on October 5, 2021, to reject the proposed district boundaries on a 32-18 party-line vote. Since this was the Agency's first proposal, the legislature could only vote to approve or reject it and could not make any amendments. Under state law, the LSA must send a second redistricting plan to the legislature within 35 days.[9]
After the vote, Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver (R) said, "Senate Republicans believe LSA can improve the compactness and population deviation of several districts by developing a second redistricting plan. My colleagues and I look forward to reviewing that plan and its compliance with the criteria established in Iowa Code." Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls (D) said, "This was a fair map drawn by the nonpartisan, independent commission. It met all the requirements laid out in state law. This is an outrageous use of political power to rig elections in their favor."[10]
LSA's first draft of proposed congressional maps:
LSA's first draft of proposed legislative maps:
Proposed state Senate districts
Proposed state House districts
On October 6, 2021, the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) announced that it would submit its second proposed congressional and legislative redistricting maps to the legislature by October 21.[11] Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) called a special session of the legislature beginning October 28, 2021, to consider the second redistricting proposal that the Iowa Legislative Services Agency had announced would be released on October 21.[12][13]
On September 14, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that they were extending the deadline for state legislative redistricting to December 1, 2021. The last two paragraphs are quoted below:[14]
“ | The LSA (Legislative Services Agency) has indicated that because of the delayed delivery of the 2020 decennial census data to the State of Iowa, the reapportionment process will not be concluded before September 1, 2021, and the apportionment will not become law before September 15, 2021. Because of this, the constitution now vests the supreme court with the responsibility and authority to “cause the state to be apportioned.” Iowa Const. art. III, § 35.
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” |
On August 17, 2021, Ed Cook, legal counsel for the Iowa Legislative Services Agency, announced that the Iowa Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission would release the first draft of proposed state legislative district maps on September 16, 2021.[16] The Commission also scheduled three virtual public hearings on the following dates:[17]
On April 8, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court released the following statement on its role in the post-2020 census redistricting cycle:[18]
“ | If the general assembly is not able to meet the constitutional deadline, the supreme court tentatively plans to meet its constitutional responsibility by implementing a process which permits, to the extent possible, the redistricting framework presently set forth in Iowa Code chapter 42 to proceed after September 15. Under such a process, the supreme court would “cause the state to be apportioned into senatorial and representative districts to comply with the requirements of the constitution prior to December 31."[15] | ” |
The court added, "Legally and constitutionally, the supreme court cannot commit to a future course of action beforehand. Thus, the statement herein should not be considered legally binding."[18]
The four appointed members of the Iowa Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission selected former state Legislative Services Agency analyst Sue Lerdal as the commission's chairperson and fifth member on August 17, 2021.[16]
Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls (D) announced that Jazmin Newton, a Davenport attorney, will replace former Iowa secretary of state candidate Deidre DeJear (D) on the Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission on July 6, 2021. The Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission is responsible for gathering feedback from residents and holding public hearings. Other members of the commission are attorney Ian Russell (who was appointed by House Minority Leader Todd Prichard (D)), former Iowa State Budget Director David Roederer (who was appointed by House Speaker Pat Grassley (R)), and former State Rep. Chris Hagenow (R) (who was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver (R)).[19][20][21]
Iowa Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission membership, 2020 cycle[22] | ||
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Name | Appointed by | |
Sue Lerdal | Elected by commission | |
Chris Hagenow | Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver (R) | |
Jazmin Newton | Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls (D) | |
David Roederer | House Speaker Pat Grassley (R)) | |
Ian Russell | House Minority Leader Todd Prichard (D) |
Apportionment is the process by which representation in a legislative body is distributed among its constituents. The number of seats in the United States House of Representatives is fixed at 435. The United States Constitution dictates that districts be redrawn every 10 years to ensure equal populations between districts. Every ten years, upon completion of the United States census, reapportionment occurs.[23]
The U.S. Census Bureau delivered apportionment counts on April 26, 2021. Iowa was apportioned four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. This represented neither a gain nor a loss of seats as compared to apportionment after the 2010 census.[24]
See the table below for additional details.
2020 and 2010 census information for Iowa | |||||||
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State | 2010 census | 2020 census | 2010-2020 | ||||
Population | U.S. House seats | Population | U.S. House seats | Raw change in population | Percentage change in population | Change in U.S. House seats | |
Iowa | 3,053,787 | 4 | 3,192,406 | 4 | 138,619 | 4.54% | 0 |
On February 12, 2021, the Census Bureau announced that it would deliver redistricting data to the states by September 30, 2021. On March 15, 2021, the Census Bureau released a statement indicating it would make redistricting data available to the states in a legacy format in mid-to-late August 2021. A legacy format presents the data in raw form, without data tables and other access tools. On May 25, 2021, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) announced that the state had reached a settlement agreement with the Census Bureau in its lawsuit over the Census Bureau's timetable for delivering redistricting data. Under the terms of the settlement, the Census Bureau agreed to deliver redistricting data, in a legacy format, by August 16, 2021.[25][26][27][28] The Census Bureau released the 2020 redistricting data in a legacy format on August 12, 2021, and in an easier-to-use format at data.census.gov on September 16, 2021.[29][30]
This section will be updated if legal challenges to the redistricting process or enacted maps are filed in court.
This section includes background information on federal requirements for congressional redistricting, state legislative redistricting, state-based requirements, redistricting methods used in the 50 states, gerrymandering, and recent court decisions.
What is redistricting and what does it entail? | |
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According to Article I, Section 4 of the United States Constitution, the states and their legislatures have primary authority in determining the "times, places, and manner" of congressional elections. Congress may also pass laws regulating congressional elections.[31][32]
“ | The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.[15] | ” |
—United States Constitution |
Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution stipulates that congressional representatives be apportioned to the states on the basis of population. There are 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives. Each state is allotted a portion of these seats based on the size of its population relative to the other states. Consequently, a state may gain seats in the House if its population grows or lose seats if its population decreases, relative to populations in other states. In 1964, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Wesberry v. Sanders that the populations of House districts must be equal "as nearly as practicable."[33][34][35]
The equal population requirement for congressional districts is strict. According to All About Redistricting, "Any district with more or fewer people than the average (also known as the 'ideal' population), must be specifically justified by a consistent state policy. And even consistent policies that cause a 1 percent spread from largest to smallest district will likely be unconstitutional."[35]
The United States Constitution is silent on the issue of state legislative redistricting. In the mid-1960s, the United States Supreme Court issued a series of rulings in an effort to clarify standards for state legislative redistricting. In Reynolds v. Sims, the court ruled that "the Equal Protection Clause [of the United States Constitution] demands no less than substantially equal state legislative representation for all citizens, of all places as well as of all races." According to All About Redistricting, "it has become accepted that a [redistricting] plan will be constitutionally suspect if the largest and smallest districts [within a state or jurisdiction] are more than 10 percent apart."[35]
In addition to the federal criteria noted above, individual states may impose additional requirements on redistricting. Common state-level redistricting criteria are listed below.
In general, a state's redistricting authority can be classified as one of the following:[37]
The term gerrymandering refers to the practice of drawing electoral district lines to favor one political party, individual, or constituency over another. When used in a rhetorical manner by opponents of a particular district map, the term has a negative connotation but does not necessarily address the legality of a challenged map. The term can also be used in legal documents; in this context, the term describes redistricting practices that violate federal or state laws.[38][39]
For additional background information about gerrymandering, click "[Show more]" below.
The phrase racial gerrymandering refers to the practice of drawing electoral district lines to dilute the voting power of racial minority groups. Federal law prohibits racial gerrymandering and establishes that, to combat this practice and to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act, states and jurisdictions can create majority-minority electoral districts. A majority-minority district is one in which a racial group or groups comprise a majority of the district's populations. Racial gerrymandering and majority-minority districts are discussed in greater detail in this article.[40]
The phrase partisan gerrymandering refers to the practice of drawing electoral district maps with the intention of favoring one political party over another. In contrast with racial gerrymandering, on which the Supreme Court of the United States has issued rulings in the past affirming that such practices violate federal law, the high court had not, as of November 2017, issued a ruling establishing clear precedent on the question of partisan gerrymandering. Although the court has granted in past cases that partisan gerrymandering can violate the United States Constitution, it has never adopted a standard for identifying or measuring partisan gerrymanders. Partisan gerrymandering is described in greater detail in this article.[41][42]The Supreme Court of the United States has, in recent years, issued several decisions dealing with redistricting policy, including rulings relating to the consideration of race in drawing district maps, the use of total population tallies in apportionment, and the constitutionality of independent redistricting commissions. The rulings in these cases, which originated in a variety of states, impact redistricting processes across the nation.
For additional background information about these cases, click "[Show more]" below.
In Gill v. Whitford, decided on June 18, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the plaintiffs—12 Wisconsin Democrats who alleged that Wisconsin's state legislative district plan had been subject to an unconstitutional gerrymander in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments—had failed to demonstrate standing under Article III of the United States Constitution to bring a complaint. The court's opinion, penned by Chief Justice John Roberts, did not address the broader question of whether partisan gerrymandering claims are justiciable and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings. Roberts was joined in the majority opinion by Associate Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. Kagan penned a concurring opinion joined by Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas penned an opinion that concurred in part with the majority opinion and in the judgment, joined by Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch.[43]
In Cooper v. Harris, decided on May 22, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the judgment of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, finding that two of North Carolina's congressional districts, the boundaries of which had been set following the 2010 United States Census, had been subject to an illegal racial gerrymander in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Justice Elena Kagan delivered the court's majority opinion, which was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor (Thomas also filed a separate concurring opinion). In the court's majority opinion, Kagan described the two-part analysis utilized by the high court when plaintiffs allege racial gerrymandering as follows: "First, the plaintiff must prove that 'race was the predominant factor motivating the legislature's decision to place a significant number of voters within or without a particular district.' ... Second, if racial considerations predominated over others, the design of the district must withstand strict scrutiny. The burden shifts to the State to prove that its race-based sorting of voters serves a 'compelling interest' and is 'narrowly tailored' to that end." In regard to the first part of the aforementioned analysis, Kagan went on to note that "a plaintiff succeeds at this stage even if the evidence reveals that a legislature elevated race to the predominant criterion in order to advance other goals, including political ones." Justice Samuel Alito delivered an opinion that concurred in part and dissented in part with the majority opinion. This opinion was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy.[44][45][46]
Evenwel v. Abbott was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2016. At issue was the constitutionality of state legislative districts in Texas. The plaintiffs, Sue Evenwel and Edward Pfenninger, argued that district populations ought to take into account only the number of registered or eligible voters residing within those districts as opposed to total population counts, which are generally used for redistricting purposes. Total population tallies include non-voting residents, such as immigrants residing in the country without legal permission, prisoners, and children. The plaintiffs alleged that this tabulation method dilutes the voting power of citizens residing in districts that are home to smaller concentrations of non-voting residents. The court ruled 8-0 on April 4, 2016, that a state or locality can use total population counts for redistricting purposes. The majority opinion was penned by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.[47][48][49][50]
Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2016. At issue was the constitutionality of state legislative districts that were created by the commission in 2012. The plaintiffs, a group of Republican voters, alleged that "the commission diluted or inflated the votes of almost two million Arizona citizens when the commission intentionally and systematically overpopulated 16 Republican districts while under-populating 11 Democrat districts." This, the plaintiffs argued, constituted a partisan gerrymander. The plaintiffs claimed that the commission placed a disproportionately large number of non-minority voters in districts dominated by Republicans; meanwhile, the commission allegedly placed many minority voters in smaller districts that tended to vote Democratic. As a result, the plaintiffs argued, more voters overall were placed in districts favoring Republicans than in those favoring Democrats, thereby diluting the votes of citizens in the Republican-dominated districts. The defendants countered that the population deviations resulted from legally defensible efforts to comply with the Voting Rights Act and obtain approval from the United States Department of Justice. At the time of redistricting, certain states were required to obtain preclearance from the U.S. Department of Justice before adopting redistricting plans or making other changes to their election laws—a requirement struck down by the United States Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder (2013). On April 20, 2016, the court ruled unanimously that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that a partisan gerrymander had taken place. Instead, the court found that the commission had acted in good faith to comply with the Voting Rights Act. The court's majority opinion was penned by Justice Stephen Breyer.[51][52][53]
In 34 of the states that conducted legislative elections in 2020, the legislatures themselves will play a significant part in the subsequent redistricting process. The winner of eight of 2020's gubernatorial elections will have veto authority over state legislative or congressional district plans approved by legislatures. The party that won trifecta control of a state in which redistricting authority rests with the legislature will direct the process that produces the maps that will be used for the remainder of the decade. Trifecta shifts in the 2010 election cycle illustrate this point. In 2010, 12 states in which legislatures had authority over redistricting saw shifts in trifecta status. Prior to the 2010 elections, seven of these states were Democratic trifectas; the rest were divided governments. After the 2010 elections, seven of these states became Republican trifectas; the remainder either remained or became divided governments. The table below details these shifts and charts trifecta status heading into the 2020 election cycle.
The 12 legislature-redistricting states that saw trifecta shifts in 2010 – subsequent trifecta status | ||||
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State | Primary redistricting authority | Pre-2010 trifecta status | Post-2010 trifecta status | Post-2018 trifecta status |
Alabama | Legislature | Divided | Republican | Republican |
Colorado | Congressional maps: legislature State legislative maps: politician commission |
Democratic | Divided | Democratic |
Indiana | Legislature | Divided | Republican | Republican |
Iowa | Legislature | Democratic | Divided | Republican |
Maine | Legislature | Democratic | Republican | Democratic |
Michigan | Legislature | Divided | Republican | Divided |
New Hampshire | Legislature | Democratic | Divided | Divided |
North Carolina | Legislature | Democratic | Divided | Divided |
Ohio | Congressional maps: legislature State legislative maps: politician commission |
Divided | Republican | Republican |
Oregon | Legislature | Democratic | Divided | Democratic |
Pennsylvania | Congressional maps: legislature State legislative maps: politician commission |
Divided | Republican | Divided |
Wisconsin | Legislature | Democratic | Republican | Divided |
Following the 2010 United States Census, Iowa lost one congressional seat. The Legislative Services Agency released its proposed congressional and state legislative maps on March 31, 2011. The maps were approved in both the Democratic Iowa State Senate and the Republican Iowa House of Representatives. On April 19, 2011, Governor Terry Branstad (R) signed the maps into law.[5][58]
State of Iowa Des Moines (capital) | |
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