State House Maps Finalized

A panel of state appellate judges finalized new state legislative districts on Nov. 30, producing House districts that group 40 percent of eligible returning incumbent state representatives with fellow incumbents.The new legislative districts will be used for the next 10 years starting with the 2012 elections and ending with the 2020 elections.

In drawing the 163 new House districts, the Appellate Apportionment Commission, which consists of six members of the Missouri Court of Appeals selected by the state Supreme Court, didn’t take into account the addresses of the 138 incumbents who under term limits are eligible to run again in 2012. As a result, 55 incumbents – 32 Republicans and 23 Democrats — are grouped with at least one other incumbent in a total of 26 districts. The plan also yielded 55 open seats in which no eligible returning incumbents reside.

The appellate commission took over the redistricting process in September after a pair of partisan commissions, one each for the Senate and House of Representatives, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans failed to reach agreements. After holding a single public hearing to gather testimony, the appellate commission conducted all of its deliberations in secret.

Category: House Updates