Redistricting: MT Congressional Maps Need You

Montana redistricting is crucial for conservation, and the time to speak up is right now
Category: Insights | | 8 min read

Update, November 5: The Commision Makes a Decision

Yesterday, the Districting and Apportionment Commission selected Map 12 to delineate Montana’s two new Congressional Districts.

We believe that Map 12 does not best meet the criteria the Commission unanimously adopted at the start of the redistricting process.

The Commission will continue to accept public comment until November 9, when it will meet for a final vote. If you’d like, you can leave a comment on the Commission’s website here.

From the process’ beginning in July to yesterday’s decision, your voice was front and center. You joined over 1,000 Wild Montana supporters to make phone calls, send emails, sign open letters, and provide testimony at hearings. 737 supporters sent 1,000 unique public comments to the Commission and 470 signed an open letter which we delivered to the Commission earlier this week.

This sort of participation is crucial to the democratic process, and I can’t thank you enough for speaking up loudly and repeatedly. Your commitment to creating a Montana in which every voter has a chance to elect leaders who share their values is remarkable and inspiring, and yet more evidence that you make everything we do possible.

There’s a mountain of work ahead, and we’ll need your help. Consider making a donation today to help us keep connecting, uniting, and mobilizing Montanans like you to defend the values and places that make Montana special.

Thank you for all that you do.

 

Update, November 1: We’re Not Done Yet

Late last week, in a surprise move, the redistricting commission proposed two new maps, bringing the total to four finalists.

After accepting public comment for a short period, the commission met again over the weekend. It didn’t reach a conclusion, but it did extend the deadline for public input to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 2.

We believe that map 11 is the only map that fulfills all of the Commission’s agreed-upon criteria. It creates a competitive Western district, avoiding unduly favoring a single party. It splits only a single county and does so without splitting towns or communities. It keeps federal reservations whole, and keeps both Gallatin and Lewis and Clark counties in the Western District, in alignment with their cultural and economic interests.

Each and every Montana voter should have a chance to vote for leaders who share their values, like protecting our wild public lands. We believe that Map 11 does the best job of giving Montanans that chance.

If you feel the same way, show your support for map 11 by adding your name to this open letter calling on the redistricting commission to select map 11.

 

Sign the Open Letter Today

 

Update, October 22: Final Maps Need Your Input

On Thursday, October 21, the independent redistricting commission selected two semifinalist maps, one of which will delineate our new U.S. House districts for the next decade.

Now, the commission is asking the public to weigh in one final time before it selects the final map on Saturday, October 30.

This is your last chance to play a role in the redistricting process before our new districts are set in stone for 10 years. It’s essential that our districts give all Montanans a fair chance to elect leaders who share our values, like protecting public lands, and your input is a vital part of making that happen.

We’ve made it easy to comment on the maps that you want the committee to choose. Click here and we’ll walk you through how to write a great comment step by step.

Comments are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, October 29.

 

Comment on the final maps now

 

What do the final maps look like?

You can see both final maps here (only maps 10 & 11 are under consideration) and explore map 10 and map 11 in more detail.

Remember, the final map should conform to the criteria the commission is legally required to follow AND the goals it has unanimously agreed upon. We support these goals and firmly believe the commission should select maps that best meet them.

We also believe that only one of the submitted maps meets all the agreed-upon criteria: map 11.

The criteria

Competitiveness and not unduly favoring a political party

Only map 11 can be considered competitive and does not unduly favor a political party.

Dividing cities, counties, and reservations.

Map 11 does the best job not splitting communities. Both maps divide one county, but map 10 also splits multiple communities in Gallatin County (especially Big Sky, Bozeman, and Gallatin Gateway).

Keeping communities of interest intact

Map 11 does the best job keeping communities of interest intact. It places Lewis and Clark County in the western district, respecting the deep cultural connections and shared history of I-15 corridor communities like Butte, Helena, and Jefferson County. It puts Pondera in the eastern district, respecting its shared identity with other agricultural counties in the Golden Triangle and eastern Montana. Map 11 also puts Whitefish in the western district and Kalispell and Columbia Falls in the eastern district.

Meanwhile, map 10 puts Lewis and Clark County in the eastern district and Pondera County into the western district. This has not been proposed in any previous map and ignores the shared culture and history of Butte, Helena, and Jefferson County. Map 10 also places Pondera county in the western district, cutting it off from other agricultural counties in the Golden Triangle and eastern Montana.

Both maps keep federal reservations whole.

The Breakdown

Competitive districts as measured by Dave’s Redistricting, a respected non-partisan, volunteer site dedicated to empowering citizen activists.

Our comment tool gives you step-by-step instructions about how to submit a comment that is relevant, compelling, and unique. Take a few minutes today to write a comment telling the commission what maps you support and why.

 

WRITE A COMMENT TODAY

 

Remember, fair maps can help ensure that we all have a chance to elect leaders who share our values.


Original post, October 8

Montana is gaining a second Congressional seat, and we’re in the final stages of deciding what our two new Congressional districts will look like.

This new seat in the U.S House of Representatives is a chance to get more representation in Washington D.C. that will stand up for Montana conservation values.

Montana is one of a few states with an independent redistricting commission that will decide the boundaries of these two Congressional seats this fall. This commission is made up of two members appointed by Republican legislative leadership, two members appointed by Democratic legislative leadership, and a non-partisan chair appointed by the Montana Supreme Court. 

You can read more about what we’ve written about the process up to this point – and why it matters for conservation – here and here

As it considers nine possible maps, the commission is asking the public to weigh in. 

This means Montanans like you have an important role to play in shaping our new Congressional districts.

What’s the timeline? 

You have only two weeks left to make your voice heard, so it’s crucial that you comment on the potential maps before October 17. 

We’ve made it easy to comment on the maps that you want the committee to choose. Click here and we’ll walk you through how to write a great comment step by step. 

Comment Now

On October 19, the commission will meet to hear public comment on the initial maps it’s put forward. It will meet again on October 21 to choose the final map, taking into account the public comment it’s received via written and oral testimony. 

What do the maps look like?

Each of the nine maps should conform to the mandatory criteria that the commission is legally required to follow (maps should be compact, contiguous, protect minority voting rights, and be as equal in population as practicable). 

You can see all the proposed maps side by side here, and look at the individual maps in detail here.

The commission, with significant public input, also unanimously adopted the following additional goals:

  • No plan may be drawn to unduly favor a political party.
  • The commission shall attempt to minimize dividing cities, towns, counties and federal reservations between two districts when possible.
  • Consider keeping communities of interest intact.
  • Consider ensuring the competitiveness of districts.

We support these goals and believe the commission should select maps that best meet them. 

We further believe that two of the submitted maps best meet all four criteria above: maps 6 and 9.

Key differences between maps

While all the maps conform to the mandatory criteria, some meet the four additional goals (listed above) better than others. 

  • Competitiveness and not unduly favoring a political party. Keeping maps competitive helps increase collaboration, reduce polarization, and maintain elections that reflect widely shared values.The maps vary significantly in the extent to which they create any competitive districts. Maps 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9 create one competitive district. Maps 1, 3, 5, and 7 create none. No maps create two competitive districts.

 

  • Dividing cities, counties, and reservations. Some of the maps divide multiple counties, and sometimes even major cities, across the two districts. Only map 2 does not divide any county into two separate districts. Unfortunately, it accomplishes this feat by cutting off a small slice of the Flathead Reservation to the south. In general, where reservations are on the border between districts, we consider some splitting justified because there is no way to keep both county and reservation whole.While none of the maps succeeds in keeping all counties and reservations whole, there is a wide variation in how much they split. Maps 6 and 9 split counties and reservations the least.

 

  • Keeping communities of interest intact. This goal is hard to measure. We’re focusing primarily on federal reservations as critical communities of interest. All maps except map 2 keep the reservations whole.

The Breakdown

Below is a table that compares the maps on the goals set by the commission. Red means that the map did not meet that criteria; yellow means that it partially satisfies the criteria; and green indicates that the map meets that criteria. 

Competitive districts as measured by Dave’s Redistricting, a respected non-partisan, volunteer site dedicated to empowering citizen activists. 

More detailed info about each map is available here: Map 1, Map 2, Map 3, Map 4, Map 5, Map 6, Map 7, Map 8, Map 9.

Our comment tool gives you step-by-step instructions about how to submit a comment that is relevant, compelling, and unique. Take a few minutes today to write a comment telling the commission what maps you support and why. 

Write a Comment Today

Fair maps can help ensure that we all have a chance to elect leaders who share our values. x

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