These files were \\ncreated by a six-person, by-partisan commission, consisting of six \\ncommission members, three democrats and three republicans. This \\ncommission was given 90 days to redraw congressional and legislative \\ndistrict boundaries for the state of Idaho. Due to lawsuits, the process\\n was extended. This legislative plan was approved by the commission on \\nMarch 9th, 2002 and was previously called L97. All digital data \\noriginates from TIGER/Line files and 2000 U.S. Census data.
Frequently asked questions:
How often are Idaho's legislative and congressional districts redrawn?
Once\\n every ten years after each census, as required by law, or when directed\\n by the Idaho Supreme Court. The most recent redistricting followed the\\n 2000 census. Redistricting is not expected to occur again in Idaho \\nuntil after the 2010 census.
Who redrew Idaho's legislative and congressional districts?
In\\n 2001, for the first time, Idaho used a citizens' commission to redraw \\nits legislative and congressional district boundaries. Before Idaho \\nvoters amended the state Constitution in 1994 to create a Redistricting \\nCommission, redistricting was done by a committee of the Idaho \\nLegislature. The committee's new district plans then had to pass the \\nLegislature before becoming law.
Who was on the Redistricting Commission?
Idaho's\\n first Commission on Redistricting was composed of Co-Chairmen Kristi \\nSellers of Chubbuck and Tom Stuart of Boise and Stanley. The other four\\n members were Raymond Givens of Coeur d'Alene, Dean Haagenson of Hayden \\nLake, Karl Shurtliff of Boise, John Hepworth of Buhl (who resigned \\neffective December 4, 2001), and Derlin Taylor of Burley (who was \\nappointed to replace Mr. Hepworth).
What are the requirements for being a Redistricting Commissioner?
According to Idaho Law, no person may serve on the commission who:
1. Is not a registered voter of the state at the time of selection; or
2. Is or has been within one (1) year a registered lobbyist; or
3.\\n Is or has been within two (2) years prior to selection an elected \\nofficial or elected legislative district, county or state party officer.\\n (This requirement does not apply to precinct committeepersons.)
The\\n individual appointing authorities may consider additional criteria \\nbeyond these statutory requirements. Idaho law also prohibits a person \\nwho has served on the Redistricting Commission from serving in either \\nhouse of the legislature for five years following their service on the \\ncommission.
When did Idaho's first Commission on Redistricting meet?
Idaho\\n law allows the Commission only 90 days to conduct its business. The \\nRedistricting Commission was formed on June 5, 2001. Its 90-day time \\nperiod would expire on September 3, 2001. After holding hearings around\\n the state in June and July, a majority of the Commission voted to adopt\\n new legislative and congressional districts on August 22, 2001. On \\nNovember 29th, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled the Commission's \\nlegislative redistricting plan unconstitutional and directed them to \\nreconvene and adopt an alternative plan. The Commission did so, \\nadopting a new plan on January 8, 2000. The Idaho Supreme Court found \\nthe Commission's second legislative map unconstitutional on March 1, \\n2002 and ordered the Commission to try again. The Commission adopted a \\nthird plan on March 9, 2002. The Supreme Court denied numerous \\nchallenges to this third map. It then became the basis for the 2002 \\nprimary and General elections and is expected to be used until the 2012 \\nelections.
What is the basic timetable for Idaho to redraw its legislative and congressional districts?
Typically,\\n and according to Idaho law, the Redistricting Commission cannot be \\nformally convened until after Idaho has received the official census \\ncounts and not before June 1 of a year ending in one. Idaho's first \\nCommission on redistricting was officially created on June 5, 2001.
By\\n law, a Commission then has 90 days (or until September 3, 2001 in the \\ncase of Idaho's first Commission) to approve new legislative and \\ncongressional district boundaries based on the most recent census \\nfigures.
If at least four of \\nthe six commissioners fail to approve new legislative and congressional \\ndistrict plans before that 90-day time period expires, the Commission \\nwill cease to exist. The law is silent as to what happens next.
Could you summarize the important dates for Idaho's first Commission on Redistricting one more time please?
After\\n January 1, 2001 but before April 1, 2001: As required by federal law, \\nthe Census Bureau must deliver to the states the small area population \\ncounts upon which redistricting is based. The Census Bureau determines \\nthe exact date within this window when Idaho will get its population \\nfigures. Idaho's were delivered on March 23, 2001.
Why conduct a census anyway?
The\\n original and still primary reason for conducting a national census \\nevery ten years is to determine how the 435 seats in the United States \\nHouse of Representatives are to be apportioned among the 50 states. Each\\n state receives its share of the 435 seats in the U.S. House based on \\nthe proportion of its population to that of the total U.S. population. \\nFor example, the population shifts during the 1990's resulted in the \\nNortheastern states losing population and therefore seats in Congress to\\n the Southern and the Western states.
What is reapportionment?
Reapportionment\\n is a federal issue that applies only to Congress. It is the process of \\ndividing up the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the\\n 50 states based on each state's proportion of the total U.S. population\\n as determined by the most recent census.
Apportionment\\n determines the each state's power, as expressed by the size of their \\ncongressional delegation, in Congress and, through the electoral \\ncollege, directly affects the selection of the president (each state's \\nnumber of votes in the electoral college equals the number of its \\nrepresentatives and senators in Congress). Like all states, Idaho has \\ntwo U.S. senators. Based on our 1990 population of 1,006,000 people and \\nour 2000 population of 1,293,953, and relative to the populations of the\\n other 49 states, Idaho will have two seats in the U.S. House of \\nRepresentatives. Even with the state's 28.5% population increase from \\n1990 to 2000, Idaho will not be getting a third seat in the U.S. House \\nof Representatives.
Assuming \\nIdaho keeps growing at the same rate it did through the decade of the \\n1990's, it will likely be 30 or 40 years (after 3 or 4 more censuses) \\nbefore Idaho gets a third congressional seat.
What is redistricting?
Redistricting\\n is the process of redrawing the boundaries of legislative and \\ncongressional districts within each state to achieve population equality\\n among all congressional districts and among all legislative districts. \\nThe U.S. Constitution requires this be done for all congressional \\ndistricts after each decennial census. The Idaho Constitution also \\nrequires that this be done for all legislative districts after each \\ncensus.
The democratic \\nprinciple behind redistricting is "one person, one vote." Requiring that\\n districts be of equal population ensures that every elected state \\nlegislator or U.S. congressman represents very close to the same number \\nof people in that state, therefore, each citizen's vote will carry the \\nsame weight.
How are reapportionment and redistricting related to the census?
The\\n original and still primary reason for conducting a census every ten \\nyears is to apportion the (now) 435 seats in the U.S. House of \\nRepresentatives among the several states. The census records population \\nchanges and is the legally recognized basis for redrawing electoral \\ndistricts of equal population.
Why is redistricting so important?
In\\n a democracy, it is important for all citizens to have equal \\nrepresentation. The political parties also see redistricting as an \\nopportunity to draw districts that favor electing their members and, \\nconversely, that are unfavorable for electing their political \\nopposition. (It's for this reason that redistricting has been described \\nas "the purest form of political bloodsport.")
What is PL 94-171?
Public\\n Law (PL) 94-171 (Title 13, United States Code) was enacted by Congress \\nin 1975. It was intended to provide state legislatures with small-area \\ncensus population totals for use in redistricting. The law's origins lie\\n with the "one person, one vote" court decisions in the 1960's. State \\nlegislatures needed to reconcile Census Bureau's small geographic area \\nboundaries with voting tabulation districts (precincts) boundaries to \\ncreate legislative districts with balanced populations. The Census \\nBureau worked with state legislatures and others to meet this need \\nbeginning with the 1980 census. The resulting Public Law 94-171 allows \\nstates to work voluntarily with the Census Bureau to match voting \\ndistrict boundaries with small-area census boundaries. With this done, \\nthe Bureau can report to those participating states the census \\npopulation totals broken down by major race group and Hispanic origin \\nfor the total population and for persons aged 18 years and older for \\neach census subdivision.
Idaho \\nparticipated in the Bureau's Census 2000 Redistricting Data Program and,\\n where counties used visible features to delineate precinct boundaries, \\nmatched those boundaries with census reporting areas. In those instances\\n where counties did not use visible features to define their precinct \\nboundaries, approximations of those precinct areas based on nearby \\nvisible features were submitted to the Census Bureau. As a result, Idaho\\n will receive the 2000 census counts by small census area subdivision as\\n well as by precinct. Receiving the census results in this fashion will \\naid Idaho's first Commission on Redistricting in drawing new legislative\\n and congressional districts that are substantially equal in population \\nand that do not discriminate racial or ethnic minorities.
What are TIGER/Line files?
The\\n Census 2000 TIGER/Line files for Redistricting form a computerized map \\nof the entire United States specifically intended to support the \\nredrawing of legislative and congressional districts. TIGER is an \\nacronym for "Topologically Integrated, Geographic Encoding and \\nReferencing." They were first used in the 1990 census. The individual \\nfiles are extracts from the Census Bureau's master computerized database\\n of geographic features for the entire United States. The Census Bureau \\ncreated this 1:100,000-scale digital map of all fifty states for the \\npurposes of conducting a complete and accurate census in a \\ncost-effective manner, and reporting the results to the states in a form\\n most useful for redistricting.
The\\n Census Bureau provides the TIGER/Line files to all interested parties \\nin ASCII text format only, NOT in the form of map images. To create maps\\n with the TIGER/Line files, one would typically use Geographic \\nInformation System (GIS) or other mapping software. When used together, \\nthe TIGER/Line files and the PL 94-171 data form a computerized map and \\nattribute database designed specifically for redistricting.
How many people does each of Idaho's two U.S. congressmen represent?
Based\\n on the 1990 census, each Idaho congressman represented close to 503,400\\n people after the last redistricting ten years ago. As the decade \\nprogressed and Idaho experienced rapid growth, particularly in its urban\\n areas, the population of the two congressional districts have grown \\nunevenly and beyond that ideal size. Based on 2000 census figures, our \\ntwo congressmen will each represent about 647,000 people.
What about our two U.S. senators?
Unlike\\n in the U.S. House of Representatives, representation in the U.S. Senate\\n is not based on a state's population. Each state gets two Senate seats \\nregardless of how large or small - population wise - they are. \\nTherefore, each state's two U.S. senators represent all of that state's \\ncitizens. The 1990 census determined Idaho's population to be 1,006,749.\\n The 2000 census determined our population to be 1,293,953.
How many people does each state legislator represent?
Idaho\\n had 35 legislative districts during the 1990's - the Idaho Constitution\\n says that there can be no less than 30 nor more than 35 legislative \\ndistricts.
Each legislative district is\\n represented by one senator and two representatives. Since Idaho's \\nlegislative districts are not further split into two House of \\nRepresentative districts, both representatives, like the senator, serve \\nthe entire district. Based on the 1990 census, each state legislator \\nrepresented about 28,800 people after the last redistricting ten years \\nago. As the decade progressed and Idaho experienced rapid growth, \\nparticularly in its urban areas, the population of many legislative \\ndistricts has grown far beyond that ideal size. Based on 2000 census \\nfigures, each of the 105 state legislators will represent about 37,000 \\npeople to start off the first decade of the third millennium.