State House members to consider fair redistricting plan, set stage for 2011 elections

HOUSE SPEAKER BILLY McCOY

By BILLY McCOY

JACKSON (Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011) – In the next few days, state House members are expected to consider one of the most important proposals we will vote on during the 2011 Legislature: a plan to redraw legislative districts for the next 10 years.

To some, this may seem dull and obscure. But I assure you that’s far from the truth because in the end we will safeguard one of the most important principles of our representative democracy – one person, one vote.

Lawmakers redraw legislative districts every 10 years. We will use figures from the 2010 Census to adjust district boundaries and ensure each one has about the same number of people

When the state House considers its redistricting plan, it will culminate months and months of hard work by the Joint Legislative Committee on Reapportionment – chaired by Rep. Tommy Reynolds and Sen. Terry Burton.

We began with a series of statewide public hearings in August and September 2010, during which all the members listened to residents share their thoughts on redistricting.

Once we received the final Census figures earlier this month, the committee held four more public hearings on Feb. 11 and 12 in each of the states four congressional districts.

House plan is fair

The result is a fair redistricting plan that will accurately reflect population shifts; ensure rights of minority voters; meet requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; adhere to various court orders given as a result of the act; and protect communities of interest, such as towns and counties.

For example, DeSoto County – the fastest growing county in which the population jumped from 107,199 in 2000 to 161,253 in 2010 – will gain two House seats. And, for the first time, the city of Madison will have its own House seat.

In addition, we will significantly reduce the number of split precincts compared to 2000.

Given all of this, I have been surprised when I hear some Republicans complain about the House redistricting plan – especially when they threaten to take the issue to court and needlessly cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.

No need for partisan bickering

It appears that Republicans are setting the stage to complain about the House plan, regardless of what it looks like. Almost all of these complaints are coming from Republicans outside the House. I believe those of us who serve in the House can come together and craft a plan that will be fair to all who call Mississippi their home. I also believe we have an obligation to avoid the expensive cost of litigation. There’s no need to spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars defending a reapportionment plan when we can draw one that will be fair to almost all members.

There is no question there is some pain involved in this process. We have to create new districts where population has grown. Those districts have to come from areas where the population is smaller than what it was ten years ago. That means three to five incumbents will see their districts disappear. There is nothing we can do to avoid that from happening.

A Republican legal challenge also could do one more thing: force lawmakers to run in their current districts this fall and then run again in 2012. Especially in these tough economic times, that would be an incredible waste of tax money.

I am hopeful our members can set aside party politics and look at the House redistricting plan for what it will be: A fair, effective way to accurately reflect population shifts the past 10 years and ensure the principle of one person, one vote.

Rep. Billy McCoy of Rienzi, a House member since 1980, has been House speaker since 2004. You can reach him at (601) 359-3300.