The Nevada Legislature is once again convening in Carson City, this time to take up the frequently fraught task of redrawing the Silver State’s political map.
Gov. Steve Sisolak on Thursday announced lawmakers would convene for a long-delayed special session focused on redistricting at 1 p.m. on Friday.
Sisolak said in a statement that he was looking forward to “an efficient and productive session” that will fulfill the Silver State’s constitutional duty to revise every federal, state and local voting district after each census.
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The Reno Gazette Journal will cover the planned five-day special session live from the state capital.
Here’s a closer look at what legislators hope to accomplish over the coming days:
What is redistricting?
Redistricting is basically a once-in-a-decade chance for politicians to pick their own voters by drawing maps that will keep them and their partisan allies in office.
The process is controlled by whichever political party holds the Legislature, often resulting in bitter partisan battles that have to be settled outside the statehouse.
Draft maps debuted on Tuesday point to the possibility of a more harmonious redistricting session in 2021, though Republicans are already taking issue with proposed changes that would cement Democratic control over the Legislature.
“We are a true swing state with 38% of voters who do not identify with the Democrat Party or Republican Party,” Assembly Minority Leader Robin Titus, R-Wellington, said in a statement. “The increasing trend of nonpartisan voters will continue for the next decade to come.
“A 4% Democrat advantage in voter registration is not grounds for super majorities in both chambers. Nevadans need to pay attention and participate during this redistricting Special Session.”
How does the process work?
All districts, from the smallest City Council ward to the largest congressional seat, are supposed to be populated as equally as possible — usually no more than 5 to 10 percent above or below another district.
Districts must be adjacent to one another and can’t be drawn to bias a protected class or political party. Map boundaries are supposed to be compact and, to whatever extent possible, stick to existing natural borders.
The boundaries also have to be compliant with both the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids drawing voting districts on the basis of race or ethnicity; as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which requires officials to at least consider those characteristics so as to prevent minority populations from being squeezed into districts that diminish the power of their vote.
What happens when it doesn’t work?
Striking a bipartisan balance on compliance with redistricting laws has proven difficult in Nevada.
The Silver State’s current political maps, drawn by Democrats in 2011, prompted multiple lawsuits and two vetoes from then-Gov. Brian Sandoval. It took the creation of a three-member court-appointed redistricting panel to finally finish the job.
The undertaking was almost equally toxic in 2001, when there were also legal challenges, then a special session called after remapping efforts repeatedly stalled in a split partisan Legislature.
A 2017 Associated Press study found Nevada’s current political maps favor Democrats, who secured a near-supermajority in the state Legislature in 2018.
Nearly a dozen state legislative races went uncontested in 2020, and currently only half of the state’s four congressional districts are considered competitive.
How can I get involved?
A formal proclamation needed to start the special session had not been issued by Sisolak as of late Friday morning, making it unclear whether, or under what circumstances, the public will be allowed to follow proceedings in-person.
What’s known is that hearings will be broadcast live on the Legislature’s website and streamed on the state’s YouTube page.
Those looking to draw their own maps, or see the preliminary drafts drawn up by legislative leaders, can do so at redistricting.leg.state.nv.us.
James DeHaven is the politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal. He covers campaigns, the Nevada Legislature and everything in between. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.
