Every 10 years, state legislatures across the country redraw their congressional map.
With census data from the federal government, local legislatures decide how to shape new districts that members of Congress represent.
Missouri lawmakers began that process on Tues. Mar. 9, but the process of drawing the maps has been complicated this year by the pandemic.
Missouri representatives said Tuesday, the redistricting process will take longer than usual. A lot longer. States were supposed to get the census data by December of last year. Instead, as Representative Dan Shaul says, "the current estimated date is September 30".
He’s a republican from Jefferson County and chairs the House Special Committee on Redistricting. He says the committee will holds essions over the fall to make up of the delays, and promised districts will be drawn with their populations in mind, not the members of congress already representing them.
Rep. Shaul says, "it's about creating districts, not kingdoms for individuals".
Missouri does not have a constitutional deadline to draw its congressional maps, but the delays could impact deadlines for candidate filing, which is slated to begin in Feb. 2022.
