Image: Courtesy Arkansas House of Representatives
One of the many legislative issues that will be before the Arkansas Legislature in the 2021 Regular Session is redistricting. The session begins Monday.
Redistricting is required by law once every 10 years after the federal census.
According to the Arkansas House of Representatives, there are two separate processes for redistricting in Arkansas.
One process is redrawing legislative boundaries for state senators and representatives. This is the responsibility of the Arkansas Board of Apportionment.
The Board of Apportionment consists of the governor, the attorney general and the secretary of state. The board will be redrawing 100 State House an 35 State Senate districts so that each meets various legal criteria, including being about the same size in population.
The other redistricting process is the legislature’s responsibility.
The Arkansas General Assembly is responsible for drawing congressional district lines.
Arkansas comprises four congressional districts.
Using census data, both chambers of the state legislature must approve a single redistricting plan. The process in the House will begin in the State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee.
As with state legislative districts, some congressional districts may expand geographic boundaries, while others may shrink depending on population changes.
The governor may veto the lines drawn by the state legislature.
Districts over time may change demographically, leading to the need to be redrawn every 10 years. The goal is to ensure each district has about the same number of people and reflects diverse communities.
Census bureau information is expected to be released in the spring. As a result, redistricting is typically one of the final items addressed toward the end of the session.
The redistricting process may be viewed in real time via live stream of all committee meetings.