Districting commission puts up proposed House districts for comment

The chair of the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission is asking for comment on drawing new legislative districts in the state.

“The Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission needs your help in drawing the new legislative districts that go into effect for the 2024 elections,” Commission Chair Maylinn Smith said in a release.

She said four drafts of maps have been proposed for purposes of generating public comments and are available for review and comment online.

Smith said that once the House districts are set, the commission will then determine which two house districts would be joined to create the 50 Senate districts for the state.

In Montana, a five-member Districting and Apportionment Commission has authority under the Montana Constitution to draw the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts every 10 years, the state Legislature website says. Using population data from the most recent U.S. Census, the commission must draw districts with approximately the same number of people in them. Montana has used a commission to draw congressional and state legislative districts since 1973.

• Commissioners are selected in the session immediately before a federal census.

• Commissioners may not be public officials.

• The majority and minority leaders of each house of the Legislature each select one commissioner.

• The first four commissioners have 20 days to select the fifth member, who will also be the commission’s presiding officer.

• The Supreme Court selects the fifth commissioner if the first four are unable to select a commissioner within the 20 days.

The commissioners appointed by the Legislature for this redistricting are Jeff Essman, appointed by Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas, R-Stevensville, Joe Lamson, appointed by Senate Minority Leader Jon Sesso, D-Butte, Dan Stusek, appointed by House Majority Leader Brad Tschida, R-Missoula, and Kendra Miller, appointed by House Minority Leader Casey Schreiner, D-Great Falls.

The Supreme Court appointed Smith as presiding officer after the commissioners were unable to agree on an appointment.

The commission already did the work to draw new congressional districts after the Census gave Montana back a second seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a seat the state lost after the 1990 Census.

That decision divided the state into an eastern district and western district, with those seats up for election on November’s ballot.

The commission is now in the process of finalizing the state House districts.

The commission website says that it will continue to hold public hearings, finishing the initial public hearings late this month, then observe a “quiet period” before the November elections.

In November and December, it will determine tentative boundaries on the 100 House districts, then receive comments on those districts, including potential pairings for the Senate districts.

The commission will assign holdover senators in that period, and hold at least one hearing at the state Capitol, then vote to submit the proposed state legislative plan to the 2023 Legislature.

January through March of next year, it will submit the plan to the Legislature, receive legislative recommendations, take final public comment on the plan, make any revisions needed and then submit the redistricting plan to the Montana secretary of state within 30 days of receiving legislative recommendations

Smith said in her release that the commission is currently taking public comments, both in-person and virtually, to help guide the creation of the final proposed map of House districts in the state, adding that no one of the four proposed maps with be the final map.

She said the commission values “robust critique of the draft maps” and asks individual to provide additional information which specifically identifies how a map meets or does meet the criteria and goals the commission is using, or complies with applicable laws.

“The commission appreciates the immeasurable benefits of public comment when developing a final legislative districts map capable of representing all of Montana,“ Smith said.

She added that map suggestions and comments articulating communities of interest, alerting the commission to possible geographical barriers in proposed voting districts and creating opportunities for voting districts capable of representing both the majority and minority views and values are particularly valuable.

“These types of public comments help ensure the final map meets the applicable criteria, goals and Voter Rights Act, as well as promoting the best representation possible for all of Montana,” Smith said. “… Please participate in the process. Your voice can make a difference in the final map.”

The four proposed districts and additional information about the process is available at the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission website at https://mtredistricting.gov .