Sec. 2413. Criteria for redistricting plan by independent commission; public notice and input
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In developing a redistricting plan of a State, the independent redistricting commission of a State shall establish single-member congressional districts using the following criteria as set forth in the following order of priority: Districts shall comply with the United States Constitution, including the requirement that they equalize total population. Districts shall comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( 52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) and all applicable Federal laws. Districts shall provide racial, ethnic, and language minorities with an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of choice and shall not dilute or diminish their ability to elect candidates of choice whether alone or in coalition with others.
Districts shall respect communities of interest, neighborhoods, and political subdivisions to the extent practicable and after compliance with the requirements of subparagraphs
(A)through (C). A community of interest is defined as an area with recognized similarities of interests, including but not limited to ethnic, racial, economic, social, cultural, geographic or historic identities. The term communities of interest may, in certain circumstances, include political subdivisions such as counties, municipalities, or school districts, but shall not include common relationships with political parties or political candidates. Except as may be required to meet the criteria described in paragraph (1), the redistricting plan developed by the independent redistricting commission shall not, when considered on a Statewide basis, unduly favor or disfavor any political party. In developing the redistricting plan for the State, the independent redistricting commission may not take into consideration any of the following factors, except to the extent necessary to comply with the criteria described in subparagraphs
(A)through
(C)of paragraph (1), paragraph (2), and to enable the redistricting plan to be measured against the external metrics described in subsection (e): The residence of any Member of the House of Representatives or candidate. The political party affiliation or voting history of the population of a district. The independent redistricting commission of a State shall hold each of its meetings in public, shall solicit and take into consideration comments from the public, including proposed maps, throughout the process of developing the redistricting plan for the State, and shall carry out its duties in an open and transparent manner which provides for the widest public dissemination reasonably possible of its proposed and final redistricting plans. The commission shall maintain a public Internet site which is not affiliated with or maintained by the office of any elected official and which includes the following features: General information on the commission, its role in the redistricting process, and its members, including contact information. An updated schedule of commission hearings and activities, including deadlines for the submission of comments. All draft redistricting plans developed by the commission under subsection
(c)and the final redistricting plan developed under subsection (d), including the accompanying written evaluation under subsection (e). All comments received from the public on the commission’s activities, including any proposed maps submitted under paragraph (1). Live streaming of commission hearings and an archive of previous meetings, including any documents considered at any such meeting, which the commission shall post not later than 24 hours after the conclusion of the meeting. Access in an easily useable format to the demographic and other data used by the commission to develop and analyze the proposed redistricting plans, together with access to any software used to draw maps of proposed districts and to any reports analyzing and evaluating any such maps. A method by which members of the public may submit comments and proposed maps directly to the commission. All records of the commission, including all communications to or from members, employees, and contractors regarding the work of the commission. A list of all contractors receiving payment from the commission, together with the annual disclosures submitted by the contractors under section 2411(c)(3). A list of the names of all individuals who submitted applications to serve on the commission, together with the applications submitted by individuals included in any selection pool, except that the commission may redact from such applications any financial or other personally sensitive information. The commission shall ensure that all information posted and maintained on the site under this paragraph, including information and proposed maps submitted by the public, shall be maintained in an easily searchable format. The commission shall ensure that the public internet site under this paragraph is operational (in at least a preliminary format) not later than January 1 of the year ending in the numeral one. The commission shall solicit, accept, and consider comments from the public with respect to its duties, activities, and procedures at any time during the period— which begins on January 1 of the year ending in the numeral one; and which ends 7 days before the date of the meeting at which the commission shall vote on approving the final redistricting plan for enactment into law under subsection (d)(2). To the greatest extent practicable, the commission shall hold its meetings and hearings in various geographic regions and locations throughout the State. The commission shall make each notice which is required to be posted and published under this section available in any language in which the State (or any jurisdiction in the State) is required to provide election materials under section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Prior to developing and publishing a final redistricting plan under subsection (d), the independent redistricting commission of a State shall develop and publish a preliminary redistricting plan. Prior to developing a preliminary redistricting plan under this subsection, the commission shall hold not fewer than 3 public hearings at which members of the public may provide input and comments regarding the potential contents of redistricting plans for the State and the process by which the commission will develop the preliminary plan under this subsection. Not fewer than 14 days prior to the date of each hearing held under this paragraph, the commission shall post notices of the hearing in on the website maintained under subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the publication of such notices in newspapers of general circulation throughout the State. Each such notice shall specify the date, time, and location of the hearing. Any member of the public may submit maps or portions of maps for consideration by the commission. As provided under subsection (b)(2)(A), any such map shall be made publicly available on the commission’s website and open to comment. The commission shall post the preliminary redistricting plan developed under this subsection, together with a report that includes the commission’s responses to any public comments received under subsection (b)(3), on the website maintained under subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the publication of each such plan in newspapers of general circulation throughout the State. Not fewer than 14 days prior to the date on which the commission posts and publishes the preliminary plan under this paragraph, the commission shall notify the public through the website maintained under subsection (b)(2), as well as through publication of notice in newspapers of general circulation throughout the State, of the pending publication of the plan. The commission shall accept and consider comments from the public (including through the website maintained under subsection (b)(2)) with respect to the preliminary redistricting plan published under paragraph (3), including proposed revisions to maps, for not fewer than 30 days after the date on which the plan is published. After posting and publishing the preliminary redistricting plan under paragraph (3), the commission shall hold not fewer than 3 public hearings in different geographic areas of the State at which members of the public may provide input and comments regarding the preliminary plan. Not fewer than 14 days prior to the date of each hearing held under this paragraph, the commission shall post notices of the hearing in on the website maintained under subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the publication of such notices in newspapers of general circulation throughout the State. Each such notice shall specify the date, time, and location of the hearing. At the option of the commission, after developing and publishing the preliminary redistricting plan under this subsection, the commission may develop and publish subsequent preliminary redistricting plans, so long as the process for the development and publication of each such subsequent plan meets the requirements set forth in this subsection for the development and publication of the first preliminary redistricting plan. After taking into consideration comments from the public on any preliminary redistricting plan developed and published under subsection (c), the independent redistricting commission of a State shall develop and publish a final redistricting plan for the State. Not later than the deadline specified in subsection (h), the commission shall hold a public hearing at which the members of the commission shall vote on approving the final plan for enactment into law. Not fewer than 14 days before the date of the meeting under paragraph (2), the commission shall provide the following information to the public through the website maintained under subsection (b)(2), as well as through newspapers of general circulation throughout the State: The final redistricting plan, including all relevant maps. A report by the commission to accompany the plan which provides the background for the plan and the commission’s reasons for selecting the plan as the final redistricting plan, including responses to the public comments received on any preliminary redistricting plan developed and published under subsection (c). Any dissenting or additional views with respect to the plan of individual members of the commission. The final redistricting plan developed and published under this subsection shall be deemed to be enacted into law if— the plan is approved by a majority of the whole membership of the commission; and at least one member of the commission appointed from each of the categories of the approved selection pool described in section 2412(b)(1) approves the plan. The independent redistricting commission shall include with each redistricting plan developed and published under this section a written evaluation that measures each such plan against external metrics which cover the criteria set forth in paragraph
(1)of subsection (a), including the impact of the plan on the ability of communities of color to elect candidates of choice, measures of partisan fairness using multiple accepted methodologies, and the degree to which the plan preserves or divides communities of interest. The independent redistricting commission of a State may begin its work on the redistricting plan of the State upon receipt of relevant population information from the Bureau of the Census, and shall approve a final redistricting plan for the State in each year ending in the numeral one not later than 8 months after the date on which the State receives the State apportionment notice or October 1, whichever occurs later.
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Sec. 2413
Criteria for redistricting plan by independent commission; public notice and input
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