The Associated Press State & Local Wire

Source: The Associated Press State & Local Wire
Date: January 12, 2008

The lines on political district maps won't budge for another four years. But with the potential loss of a congressional seat looming after the 2010 census, the maneuvering has begun over who draws the new districts.

Those zig-zags on the map largely determine whether Republicans or Democrats win elections and get to steer state policy in the Minnesota Legislature or shape federal decisions in the U.S. House.

Political luminaries including former Vice President Walter Mondale and former Gov. Arne Carlson lined up Friday to support the idea of curbing the Legislature's influence over redistricting. They said their plan to give retired judges the job would result in more competitive elections and more power for voters.

"A legislative body should remove from itself its own conflict of interest," Carlson said at a hearing of the Senate State and Local Government Operations and Oversight Committee.

Former Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, a Democrat who participated in redistricting going back to 1971, said the process can easily be manipulated to protect incumbents.