Des Moines, Iowa — The top Republican in the Iowa Senate is pushing back against Democrats who say the Republican-led legislature intends to adopt new maps for congressional and legislative districts that favor Republicans.
Republican Jack Whitver of Ankeny is the Senate Majority Leader.
Last Tuesday the 32 Republicans in the Iowa Senate rejected Plan One for redistricting. Whitver says no plan can provide districts with an equal number of residents, but the first plan had some wide swings when comparing the population count in each legislative district.
The non-partisan Legislative Services Agency will deliver Plan Two on October 21st and the governor has called the legislature to convene on October 28th to vote on it. The Democratic leader in the Iowa Senate has called on Republicans to promise not to offer amendments to a THIRD set of maps — if the set second is rejected.
Whitver isn’t predicting how legislators may vote on the not-yet-revealed Plan Two for redistricting.
The boundaries for legislative and congressional districts are redrawn every 10 years to account for population shifts. The data from the 2020 Census, however, was delivered to states five months late and Whitver says that’s delayed candidate recruitment and campaigning for the 2022 election. Due to constitutional deadlines, the Iowa Supreme Court is technically in charge of redistricting right now, but the court has given lawmakers until December 1st to approve a redistricting plan.
Whitver made his comments this weekend on “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS.
