Time is right to guard against gerrymandering

Election 2022 has come and gone. When members of Congress and the Minnesota State Legislature take their seats in January, they will officially be representing the new districts drawn in the 2021-22 redistricting cycle.

These boundaries were drawn based on the results of the 2020 census to ensure that each district contains roughly the same number of people. On average, Minnesota state House districts now contain 42,586 people, state Senate districts contain 85,172 people, and each of Minnesota's eight congressional districts contain 713,312 people.

The changes in district boundaries account for population growth and shifts over the past 10 years and ensure proportionate representation of all people.

After redistricting, we saw minimal change in our districts. Our state House District 11A remains centered on Carlton County, with parts of southern St. Louis County and Northern Pine County. Our state Senate District 11 still contains all of Carlton and Pine counties, as well as parts of southern St. Louis County, the eastern half of Kanabec County, and adds Rush City in northern Chisago County.

In Minnesota, the State Legislature is in control of redistricting. However, the divided legislature was unable to come to an agreement and our new maps were drawn by a panel of judges appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The Legislature and governor haven't successfully agreed on new maps in Minnesota for the past 60 years due to divided control of state government.

In my view, that's a good thing. It means our maps are fair. When one party has full control of redistricting, we typically see what is called gerrymandering, when districts are drawn in a way to disproportionately favor one party over the other.

For example, Donald Trump won just over 40 percent of the vote in Illinois in 2020, but Democrats drew a congressional map in which he won just three, or 18 percent of the districts. On the flip side, Republicans in Texas drew a map with 13 districts that Biden won in 2020, only 34 percent of the total number of districts. Biden received over 46 percent of the vote in Texas in 2020.

These two maps are both unfair, and Minnesota could end up in a similar situation during the next redistricting cycle. Republicans made gains in rural Minnesota this year, and Democrats gained in the metro. We also saw Congressman Pete Stauber, R-Hermantown, reelected with 57 percent of the vote here in the 8th District. The results could look drastically different depending upon how our maps are drawn after the 2030 census.

If the DFL maintains full control of state government like the party won in 2022, or if Minnesota Republicans take full control, we could see a map that disenfranchises voters from across the state.

Counties and cities could be unnecessarily split and other communities of interest could be divided at the behest of political gain for the party in power. It is important for Minnesota to follow in the footsteps of states such as Arizona and Colorado, both of which have adopted independent redistricting commissions.

I encourage Minnesotans to call, email, or send a letter to their state senators and state representatives and ask them to push for the creation of an independent redistricting commission in Minnesota.

In order to keep Minnesota's maps fair in the future, redistricting power must be removed from politicians, and given to the citizens.

Esko graduate Nathan Barta first became interested in redistricting in the fall of 2021. He testified before the Minnesota Supreme Court Redistricting panel, and last spring he proposed a county redistricting plan to the Carlton County board, as shown above. He is studying political science at the University of Minnesota Duluth and can be contacted at [email protected], or 218-464-8623.