Office of the Revisor of Statutes
SF 2026
Introduction - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026)
Posted on 02/28/2025 11:08 a.m.
Bill Text Versions
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Introduction
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Posted on 02/26/2025 |
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A bill for an act
relating to redistricting; providing districting principles for congressional and
legislative districts; prohibiting redistricting plans from favoring or disfavoring
incumbents; requiring redistricting plans to proportionally reflect statewide voter
partisan preference; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 2.91, subdivision
2; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 2.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 2.91, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2.
Corrections.
The legislature intends that a redistricting plan encompass all the
territory of this state, that no territory be omitted or duplicateddeleted text begin , that all districts consist of
convenient contiguous territory substantially equal in population, and that political
subdivisions not be divided more than necessary to meet constitutional requirementsdeleted text end new text begin and
that the districts comply with sections 2.94 and 2.95new text end . Therefore, in implementing a
redistricting plan for the legislature or for Congress, the secretary of state, after notifying
the Legislative Coordinating Commission and the revisor of statutes, shall order the following
corrections:
(a) If a territory in this state is not named in the redistricting plan but lies within the
boundaries of a district, it is a part of the district within which it lies.
(b) If a territory in this state is not named in the redistricting plan but lies between the
boundaries of two or more districts, it is a part of the contiguous district having the smallest
population.
(c) If a territory in this state is assigned in the redistricting plan to two or more districts,
it is part of the district having the smallest population.
(d) If a territory in this state is assigned to a district that consists of other territory
containing a majority of the population of the district but with which it is not contiguous,
the territory is a part of the contiguous district having the smallest population.
(e) If the description of a district boundary line that divides a political subdivision is
ambiguous because a highway, street, railroad track, power transmission line, river, creek,
or other physical feature or census block boundary that forms part of the district boundary
is omitted or is not properly named or has been changed, or because a compass direction
for the boundary line is wrong, the secretary of state shall add or correct the name or compass
direction and resolve the ambiguity in favor of creating districts deleted text begin of convenient, contiguous
territory of substantially equal population that do not divide political subdivisions more
than is necessary to meet constitutional requirementsdeleted text end new text begin that comply with sections 2.94 and
2.95new text end .
Sec. 2.
new text begin
[2.94] DISTRICTING PRINCIPLES.
new text end
new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Applicability. new text end
new text begin
Congressional and legislative districts must be drawn in
accordance with the principles listed in this section. If districts cannot be drawn fully in
accordance with all principles, priority must be given to the principles in the order in which
they are listed, except when doing so would violate federal law, including requirements of
the United States Constitution; the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended; and the
Minnesota Constitution.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Equal population. new text end
new text begin
Each congressional district must be as nearly equal in total
population as practicable. Each legislative district must be substantially equal in total
population. The maximum permissible deviation for a legislative district is three percent,
plus or minus, from the total population of the ideal district.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Minority representation. new text end
new text begin
Districts must provide, at a minimum:
new text end
new text begin
(1) the equal opportunity of racial, ethnic, and language minorities to participate in the
political process and to elect candidates of their choice, whether alone or in coalition with
others; and
new text end
new text begin
(2) sizable racial, ethnic, and language minorities who constitute less than a voting-age
majority of a district with an opportunity to substantially influence the outcome of an election.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 4. new text end
new text begin Convenient contiguous territory. new text end
new text begin
Each district must consist of convenient
contiguous territory. Contiguity by water is sufficient if the water is not a serious obstacle
to travel within the district. A district with areas that touch only at a point is not contiguous.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 5. new text end
new text begin Tribal reservations. new text end
new text begin
Federally recognized American Indian Tribal reservations
may only be divided if:
new text end
new text begin
(1) the division occurs because a portion of the reservation is not contiguous with another
portion of the reservation; or
new text end
new text begin
(2) despite the division, the known population of the reservation remains wholly located
within a single district.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 6. new text end
new text begin Communities of interest. new text end
new text begin
Districts must minimize the division of identifiable
communities of interest. A community of interest may include a racial, ethnic, or linguistic
group or any group with shared experiences or concerns, including but not limited to
geographic, regional, social, cultural, historic, socioeconomic, occupational, trade, or
transportation interests. Communities of interest do not include relationships with political
parties, incumbents, or candidates. A political subdivision is not, by itself, a community of
interest. Where communities of interest overlap, greater consideration must be given to
those communities of interest whose representational needs would be most benefited from
the community's inclusion in a single district.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 7. new text end
new text begin Preserving political subdivisions. new text end
new text begin
Districts must minimize the division of
counties, cities, school districts, and towns to the extent practicable.
new text end
Sec. 3.
new text begin
[2.95] CANDIDATES; INCUMBENTS; STATEWIDE PARTISAN
PREFERENCE.
new text end
new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Candidates; incumbents. new text end
new text begin
A redistricting plan must not purposely favor
or disfavor a candidate or incumbent.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Statewide partisan preference. new text end
new text begin
(a) The statewide proportion of districts in
each redistricting plan that favor a political party must correspond closely to the statewide
partisan preferences for the voters of Minnesota for that party.
new text end
new text begin
(b) The statewide proportion of districts in each redistricting plan that favor a political
party must be determined by:
new text end
new text begin
(1) calculating the number of districts in the redistricting plan that would have been won
by the candidates representing the first political party and the second political party using
the two-party vote in each statewide partisan general election held in the preceding six years
for which precinct-level data is available;
new text end
new text begin
(2) dividing each of these numbers by the total number of districts in the redistricting
plan to obtain the proportion of districts in the redistricting plan that would have been won
by candidates representing the first political party and the second political party in each
general election; and
new text end
new text begin
(3) calculating the median of these proportions for each political party.
new text end
new text begin
(c) The statewide partisan preferences of the voters of Minnesota must be determined
by:
new text end
new text begin
(1) calculating the proportion of the statewide two-party vote received by the candidates
representing the first political party and the second political party in each statewide partisan
general election held in the preceding six years for which precinct-level data is available;
and
new text end
new text begin
(2) calculating the median of these proportions for each political party.
new text end
new text begin
(d) For purposes of this section, "correspond closely" means that the statewide proportion
of districts in each redistricting plan that favor each political party deviates by no more than
three percentage points in either direction, or if this is arithmetically impossible, by the
smallest possible proportion that is larger than three percentage points, from the statewide
partisan preferences of the voters of Minnesota.
new text end