Iowa will release second set of redistricting maps this month

By: Katie Akin - October 6, 2021 2:33 pm

he State Capital of Iowa is reflected by the Henry A Wallace Building

The State Capitol of Iowa is reflected by the Henry A Wallace Building on Nov, 6, 2018 in Des Moines. (Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images)

Iowa’s Legislative Services Agency announced Wednesday that a second nonpartisan redistricting proposal will be ready on Oct. 21.

The announcement comes one day after lawmakers rejected the first proposed maps for Iowa’s once-a-decade redistricting process. Republican senators voting against the plan asked the LSA, a nonpartisan agency, to make the legislative districts more compact and more balanced in population for the second proposal.

The LSA has 35 days to create the next set of maps, which will include new districts for the state House and Senate, as well as new U.S. House districts. The agency plans to draw the new maps more quickly than that deadline, giving lawmakers a new set to consider within just 16 days.

Iowa law stipulates that lawmakers may not convene for a special session immediately after the maps come out. They have to wait at least seven days – until Oct. 28 – before returning to Des Moines to vote on the proposal.

A date has not been set for the second special session on redistricting.

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Katie Akin

Katie Akin is a former Iowa Capital Dispatch reporter. Katie began her career as an intern at PolitiFact, debunking viral fake news and fact-checking state and national politicians. She moved to Iowa in 2019 for a politics internship at the Des Moines Register, where she assisted with Iowa Caucus coverage, multimedia projects and the Register’s Iowa Poll. She became the Register’s retail reporter in early 2020, chronicling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Central Iowa’s restaurants and retailers.