JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) The growing movement against partisan gerrymandering has achieved a new first.
A ballot measure approved in the midterm elections will make Missouri the first state to use a mathematical formula to try to engineer partisan fairness and competitiveness when redrawing its state legislative districts after the 2020 census.
An Associated Press analysis of the new formula shows it has the potential to end the Republicans’ supermajorities in Missouri’s state House and Senate. It also could move the chambers closer to the more even partisan division that is often reflected in statewide races.
Voters in Colorado, Michigan and Utah also approved redistricting measures in November.
Those initiatives create redistricting commissions with criteria intended to promote competitive districts. But they don’t mandate a mathematical test to ensure that occurs, as Missouri’s does.
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