COVID case delays contentious redistricting in Oregon

House speaker says chamber won't convene until Saturday

By SARA CLINE
Associated Press/Report for America

A broken power-sharing deal, the lingering possibility of a Republican walkout and a COVID-19 case are adding greater uncertainty to whether Oregon legislators will successfully redraw the state’s political districts ahead of a tight deadline.

Stakes are high, as Oregon gained a new, sixth U.S. House seat following the latest census.

Lawmakers were told the House would reconvene in Salem Wednesday morning following news Tuesday that someone in the building had tested positive for COVID-19.

But House Speaker Tina Kotek now says the chamber won’t convene until Saturday, to give time for those exposed to the coronavirus case to be tested and receive results.

Democrats say their entire caucus in the House has been vaccinated. The number of Oregon’s vaccinated Republican lawmakers was not immediately available.

When the House reconvenes on Saturday lawmakers will have just two days to vote on and pass new political boundaries before a Sept. 27 deadline. If congressional maps are not passed by that deadline, the task will fall to a panel of five retired judges appointed by the Oregon Supreme Court.

But who will return to the Capitol when the House doors reopen remains in question.

House Republicans showed signs of a possible walkout this week, after Kotek, a Democrat, rescinded a power-sharing deal to redraw political maps that she made with the House GOP.

If Republicans don’t go to the floor of the House the chamber won’t have a quorum — meaning lawmakers wouldn’t be able to proceed with business.

Read more at: https://apnews.com/article/health-oregon-coronavirus-pandemic-redistricting-salem-9916637653aeafe3bba2bae3f4514ee1