Census data delays leave Oregon officials wrestling with redistricting deadline
(Update: Adding video, Fagan comments; may use PSU population data)
Population counts needed to draw maps not expected until Sept. 30
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek said Wednesday they are seeking relief from the Oregon Supreme Court to preserve the Legislative Assembly’s ability to fulfill its constitutional duty to conduct legislative redistricting amid delays in federal Census data.
This year, the Census data that state legislatures rely on to redistrict congressional and state legislative seats will not be available until Sept. 30 – six months later than usual, and well past the deadlines set by the Oregon Constitution.
The Oregon Legislature's presiding officers filed a “petition of mandamus,” asking the court to grant the Legislature three months to attempt redistricting, once the state receives the Census data. They are also asking the court to allow the Legislature to conduct redistricting outside of a regular session.
However, during a news conference Wednesday, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan said that while she agrees about seeking clarity from the court, her office will offer another option — to move forward with the current July 1 deadline and use alternative data sets from Portland State University’s Population Research Center.
“We are arguing for the same outcome, in the sense that we both agree it is the Legislature’s job,” Fagan said. “It is not the Legislature or the (secretary of state). It’s the Legislature. When, is our position.”
Fagan was adamant about letting Oregonians know that this should not be viewed as a partisan issue.
"This is a very collaborative process, to go to the Supreme Court and ask them to weigh in on something that's very important to Oregon representation for the next 10 years," Fagan said.
Redistricting, the process where lawmakers redraw legislative and congressional districts, occurs every 10 years following the census. Districts must be equal in population to each other.
Although there’s a set number of state legislative districts, due to Oregon’s population growth in the last decade, it is likely that the state will receive an additional seat in the U.S. House. This means that the number of congressional districts would increase from five to six.
However, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that data may not be delivered until Sept. 30. Under the Oregon Constitution and state laws, the deadline to redraw districts is July 1.
The legislative leaders issued the following joint statement:
“For more than a year, we have worked hard to do as much good as we could for Oregonians in crisis. It has required more creative thinking, more risk taking, and more collaboration than any other time in our history.
“Oregon is still in crisis. We will need to keep doing the impossible as we build back and recover. Today we made an extraordinary request of the Oregon Supreme Court after an extraordinary year.
“While the Secretary of State is named as a defendant in this petition, we want to be clear that this is part of the normal process for seeking relief from the courts. We all share the need for clarity on how to proceed in these unprecedented times.”
However, Fagan said if this request was granted, she is worried the extension could disrupt the election cycle.
“My concern about the deadlines proposed by the Legislature is that the redistricting process could reach in to 2022 and would then cause disruption in the 2022 primary elections,” Fagan said.
In Courtney and Kotek’s petition, they ask for the deadline to be extended to as late as Dec. 30.
“With the redistricting data delayed until well beyond the constitutionally mandated reapportionment deadlines, the Legislative Assembly and Secretary of State have two choices: fail to carry out their constitutional duty to reapportion or move forward with outdated data, which in turn creates a risk that a reapportionment violates the Equal Protection Clause and Voting Rights Act,” the legislative petition stated.
In an attempt to avoid this outcome, Fagan said she has met with PSU's Population Research Center about using alternative data sets to map the districts.
“We have every confidence that with that data, the Legislature can do their job and fulfill their constitutional responsibility to Oregonians, and do it on the existing timelines under the Oregon constitution,” Fagan said.
Officials say that after Census data is released, Oregonians would have to the opportunity to petition the court in the event that there are any changes that need to be made.
“Essentially, we are giving the court two different options,” Fagan said.
Under the Oregon Constitution, if lawmakers do not receive an extension and do not meet their deadline, then it would be Fagan’s job to draw legislative districts by Aug. 15. However Fagan said that she has “every confidence that (lawmakers) will get it done in a bipartisan fashion, just as they did 10 years ago.”
A bi-partisan coalition of lawmakers is calling for an independent redistricting commission to redraw the maps. But Fagan says to do that, the Legislature would have to ask voters to change the Constitution, and that also could negatively affect the 2022 election schedule.
News release from Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan:
Statement from Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan on the Legislature’s Supreme Court Redistricting Petition
SALEM, Ore. – Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan issued the following statement in response to the petition for writ of mandamus filed with the Oregon Supreme Court by Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney and Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek:
“Over the last several weeks, the Secretary of State’s office has been in regular communication with legislative leadership about the unprecedented delays in Census data and the questions that it raises around redistricting this year. The Senate President, the House Speaker, and I are all in agreement that the Oregon Supreme Court is the right venue to seek clarity on how redistricting is conducted this year. Though the name of this petition may suggest we are adversarial, the caption is merely a formality to provide clarity to a process in which both the Oregon Legislature and Secretary of State have a Constitutional obligation to Oregonians.
“As Oregon’s chief elections officer, I am responsible for ensuring the accessibility, predictability, and security of Oregon elections in 2022. I have significant concerns about the Legislature’s request to move redistricting deadlines into 2022. Such a move would likely have cascading effects and require the Legislature or the Court to move the 2022 primary election to an uncertain date. I have consulted with our Elections Director and the county clerks. I share their concerns that disrupting 2022 election dates would lead to a significant disruption and voter confusion over next year’s elections. We have shared these concerns with legislative leadership and will be presenting the Court with a simpler option that preserves the Constitutional duty of the legislature to do redistricting but in a manner that is timely and does not disrupt Oregon‘s 2022 elections.
“My commitment in this process is to ensure that Oregonians from all walks of life are front and center. Maps must be fair, drawn in a timely manner, and the people of Oregon must be given adequate opportunity to have their voices heard. Accountability measures should remain in place if the Legislature is unable to complete its work, and Oregonians must maintain their right to challenge the maps under the Oregon Constitution and related laws.
“In the coming months, I look forward to working collaboratively with the Legislature, helping to promote their work, and engaging Oregonians in all corners of the state, including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, other communities of color, and historically underserved communities in this process. Together, we can ensure all Oregonians have the fair, equitable representation they deserve.”
News release from the Oregon House Republican Caucus:
Bi-partisan coalition calls for an independent redistricting commission to redraw legislative districts in Oregon
SALEM, Ore. – At a press conference today, House Redistricting Vice Chair Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany) and House Republican Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby) were joined by Hon. Jeff Barker (D) and Independent Party of Oregon co-chair Andrew Kaza to call for an independent redistricting commission to ensure a fair and accountable process.
“It’s vital that new legislative districts accurately reflect the electorate, and without access to 2020 Census data, lawmakers should not be the ones drawing their own new boundaries,” stated Rep. Boshart Davis. “We need to pass legislation to get the responsibility out of the hands of partisan legislators and into a nonpartisan, independent commission.”
“Oregon voters should choose their politicians, politicians shouldn’t choose their voters. It’s a conflict of interest,” added Leader Drazan. “The independent commission we’re proposing would ensure the accountability and transparency that Oregonians deserve for fair representation from their lawmakers.”
“The current system is vulnerable to political gerrymandering, which is detrimental to voting integrity,” said Hon. Barker. “This proposal would greatly reduce this risk by removing politicians from the process.”
“Political gerrymandering can destroy the public’s confidence in the electoral process,” stated IPO co-chair, Andrew Kaza. “We should remove all doubt that this year’s redistricting process is anything less than just and impartial by handing responsibility over to an independent commission.”
Leader Drazan’s work with House Joint Resolution 7 intends to create the pathway to establish an independent redistricting commission to carry out this process.
