Bill Proposes Committee To Draw Redistricting Lines

(Bismarck, ND) -- A new bill is proposing that a committee of lawmakers would draw redistricting lines.  

The redistricting process happens once every ten years, with specific criteria related to demographics taken from the previous year's census.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner says the committee would likely include 16 or 18 lawmakers. The committee would be made up mostly of Republicans, with two or three Democrats, representing the party breakdown in the Legislature.

Wardner says care would be taken to draw a fair electoral map, but House Minority Leader Josh Boschee says Republicans have previously drawn the lines to their political benefit.