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Eye On Boise

The redistricting plans drawn by members of the public…

This is one of the Idaho legislative redistricting plans submitted by members of the public; plan L-10 was designed to give urban, suburban and rural residents different lawmakers to represent their differing interests, but also creates a district that sweeps from Washington County on the Oregon border to Fremont County on the Wyoming border.
This is one of the Idaho legislative redistricting plans submitted by members of the public; plan L-10 was designed to give urban, suburban and rural residents different lawmakers to represent their differing interests, but also creates a district that sweeps from Washington County on the Oregon border to Fremont County on the Wyoming border.

The redistricting commission had gone through more than half of the citizen-submitted legislative district maps so far this morning; it's taking a five-minute break now. Among those that drew comments: Remarking on plan L-3, Commissioner George Moses said, "I guess this is testament to how creative you can be if you don't let those pesky county lines get in your way," to which Commissioner Evan Frasure responded, "Oh, come on." Plan L-8, submitted by Jared Larsen, is just for a half-dozen southern Idaho districts, but Frasure noted some of the divisions with interest. "Obviously it isn't a full statewide plan, but these regional ones are interesting," he said.

Plan L-10, submitted by Joshua Peters, drew lines designed to have urban, suburban and rural residents represented by different lawmakers, to reflect their differing interests. But it also included a giant district stretching across the middle of the state, all the way from Washington County on the Oregon border to Fremont County on the Wyoming border, drawing some chuckles from commissioners about which of those counties would like that less. Plan L-12, submitted by Rebecca Jacobsen, tried a scientific approach, using a "split line" method, dividing the state in half by population using the shortest line possible, then in half again and again until there were 32 districts. "I did try to keep counties together, but it didn't always work out," she wrote.

You can see all the proposed plans online on the Redistrict Commission's website here.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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