Delaware is redrawing its legislative district maps this fall. Here's what to know

Sarah Gamard
Delaware News Journal

Lawmakers plan to redraw their legislative districts in less than two months, and it's unclear what the end product will mean for Delaware politics.

In Delaware, the General Assembly redraws its own district lines. Delaware has only one congressional district, so the focus will be on how its 62 state lawmakers choose to redraw their own districts.

Lawmakers plan to hold a special session in the fall that could span a few weeks in order to finalize the maps. They want to finish the redistricting process by Nov. 8, exactly one year before the 2022 general election. State law requires that a candidate lives in their district for at least a year to run for office there.

The process, which happens every 10 years following revised population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, is happening about five months later than usual because the Census count was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lawmakers received the final data from the U.S. Census Bureau on Friday, according to Senate President David Sokola.

Because of increased populations in certain areas like Sussex County over the last 10 years, New Castle County could lose at least one House seat and half of a Senate seat to the lower part of the state, according to Sokola. It's unclear exactly what parts of the state will be affected.

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Good-government raise concerns

Senate President David Sokola vowed to have a fair redistricting process in the face of concerns from good-government groups.

Meanwhile, redistricting advocates with left-leaning groups like the American Civil Liberties Union are pushing for lawmakers to be transparent about the process. They are asking lawmakers to pledge that they won't violate the law that says they can't draw districts that unduly favor a person or party.

Advocates say they are less worried about traditional gerrymandering in Delaware as they are about what some call "buddy-mandering," which is drawing district lines so that certain incumbents do not lose office to a potential challenger or so that an unpopular incumbent is forced to face re-election against a more popular incumbent.

"We're praying that it's not happening this year," said Kyra Hoffner, a redistricting advocate with the Delaware League of Women Voters. "But we won't know until we actually see the maps."

Sokola said his goal is to redraw district lines fairly and consistently, regardless of whether an incumbent could face a challenger.

"I've heard some people concerned about people running against them, I'm not gonna lie to you about that," Sokola said. "I do genuinely like the people I serve with, and I don't want to know who might run against somebody."

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Lack of independent panel in redistricting

Lawmakers are expected to return this fall to the state Capitol to approve new district lines for the next 10 years.

Democrats have tried to create an independent commission for redistricting in the hopes of preventing conflicts of interest. Previous efforts were unsuccessful, and dissenters have argued that a separate group would not make the process any less political.

Lawmakers are allowing constituents to give public input on redrawing maps, though it's unclear how much that input will ultimately influence the final product.

Advocates are trying to encourage residents to make suggestions before the Nov. 8 deadline, with the hope that certain communities won't be broken up by the redistricting process.

If a community unified by a park, neighborhood or other factor is carved up into three districts instead of one, it's more likely that the community's concerns would be overlooked by lawmakers, advocates argue.

Dwayne Bensing, a legal expert with the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, said he's concerned the deadline is too close for the public to get a good understanding of the process.

"They're not required to respond to the public input, or even just give an explanation for why they've drawn the districts the way that they have," Bensing said. "That makes it harder for people to really understand what's going on in backrooms in Dover."

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How will prisoners be counted this year?

About 25 protesters stood along US 113 in front of the Sussex Correctional Institution to protest alleged mistreatment of inmates.

Regardless, it will be hard for lawmakers to balance public suggestions with other factors, such as maintaining majority-minority districts and a change in how the prison population will be counted.

For the first time, people in prison will be counted based on their last known address instead of within the prison. If prisoners were counted in the district in which they are imprisoned, that could give the district more weight in representation than it would otherwise have — especially in a rural area, critics say.

Lawmakers created the requirement in 2010, but postponed its effectiveness due to funding concerns for the software program needed to recount the prisoners.

The Legislature also wants to avoid redrawing maps in a way that places two incumbents into the same district, thus forcing them to face off in the next election.

It happened in 2010 when Sokola, a Democrat from Newark, and former Republican Sen. Liane Sorenson were placed in the same district, though Sorenson retired before that race could take place.

Members of the public can learn more about the process and voice their own concerns and suggestions during a public meeting with lawmakers on Sept. 28.

The General Assembly has also created the webpage https://legis.delaware.gov/redistricting where residents can find public hearing dates, look at draft maps once they're available and submit their own suggestions through an online form.

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Sarah Gamard covers government and politics for Delaware Online/The News Journal. Reach her at (302) 324-2281 or sgamard@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGamard.