A Q&A with Peter Wattson, a redistricting expert and lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state, about the state’s history of redistricting — and what he expects to happen between now and next February, when state law requires Minnesota to have a new political map.
Last week’s release of state-by-state population numbers by the U.S. Census was the official, if belated, kickoff of redistricting season. While Minnesota was able to hold onto all eight of its current seats in Congress, the state won’t be able to begin rebalancing the populations of those districts — or state legislative districts — until late summer, when more detailed data is released.
These delays will make it more difficult for the state Legislature to redraw its political maps by a February 2022 deadline, even if the court, and not the Legislature, has long been the decider in Minnesota. A lawsuit filed in February began the state down that path, arguing that current lines are unconstitutional because of their unequal populations and asking the court to begin the process of drawing new ones.
Peter Wattson is the lead plaintiff in that suit. No stranger to redistricting law and politics, Wattson was a state Senate staff member assigned to the redistricting process and served as counsel in 2011 to then-Gov. Mark Dayton during his redistricting battles. Now retired, Wattson remains involved in redistricting law. MinnPost talked to Wattson about the current lawsuit, the state’s history of redistricting and what he expects to happen between now and next February, when state law requires Minnesota to have a new political map. Continue reading.