BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s rural lawmakers worry that when new political maps are drawn this year their political influence will shrink due to population growth in and around a handful of the state’s larger cities.
Legislative redistricting occurs every 10 years after a federal census.
It aims to ensure each lawmaker represents about the same number of people.
Some lawmakers expect some partisan political bickering during the process. But they say the biggest task will be striking a balance between urban and rural interests.
Republican Sen. Jerry Klein of Fessenden says rural priorities increasingly don’t mirror those in bigger cities.
