Redistricting efforts underway in legislature

The special session of the Nebraska legislature began Monday, Sept. 13, for the sole purpose of redistricting, along with various confirmations of gubernatorial appointments.

The nine-member redistricting committee, of which I am a member, has been hard at work for several weeks prior to the session. The redistricting committee was tasked with drawing up several district maps, including, US Congress, Nebraska legislature, State Supreme Court, Public Service Commission, University of Nebraska Board of Regents and State Board of Education. After receiving census data and training from the Legislative Research Office, we set down to the tasks of drawing those maps.

Factors to be taken into consideration were race, age, population, geography, cores of existing districts and communities of interest. This was no small feat.

By the time you read this, the redistricting committee will have introduced maps to the full legislature and hearings will have been held on the various proposed maps in each of Nebraska’s three existing congressional districts, as mandated by law. We will have heard from dozens, perhaps hundreds or even thousands, of Nebraskans between hearings, emails, phone calls to our offices and chatting with constituents around our communities. After those hearings, the committee will put forth proposals for debate by the full legislature.

We have heard you. Nebraskans want fair representation, they want a balance of urban and rural, non-gerrymandered districts and a respect for the rule of law and the principle of one person, one vote.

I’m confident the maps we send to the floor for debate will conform to these desires and will serve Nebraskans well over the next ten years, during which they are in place, until the next decennial census.

What Nebraskans don’t want is partisan political interests drawing district lines to favor their own side and their own desired candidates. Nebraskans want to choose their politicians - they do not want their politicians to be choosing them.

In the coming days, the legislature will debate these maps and will come to a conclusion, which I hope will serve the best interests of all Nebraskans.

Apart from redistricting, my staff and I have been working on plans for the upcoming legislative session. This includes researching and drafting new legislation, but also formulating strategies for advancing legislation that has been laid over from last year.

As always, I greatly value and appreciate hearing from constituents. Feel free to reach out to my office with any questions, comments or concerns. I can be reached at [email protected] or at 402-471-2631.