Bill would change redistricting process for Iowa county boards of supervisors

The Iowa House of Representatives advanced legislation Wednesday that would change the redistricting process for county boards of supervisors.

Republicans promised the bill would create a more equitable system and fairer representation, but Democrats called it an infringement of local control and an effort to dilute their influence in Iowa's largest counties.

Currently, county boards of supervisors can choose between three districting plans:

With "plan one," supervisors are elected at large.

"Plan two" divides the county into districts based on population. A supervisor has to live in the district they represent, but voters cast at-large votes.

"Plan three" requires district residents to choose a candidate who also lives in the district. Districts are drawn up based on population.

House File 2372 would require any county with a population of more than 60,000 people to use plan three. It also amends the process by which those district maps are drawn, removing the power from a board-appointed commission and instead handing it over to the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.

The Legislative Services Agency currently draws maps for state House and Senate districts.

"We are having a lot of growth in counties that exceed 60,000 people," said the bill's floor manager, Rep. Gary Carlson, R-Muscatine. "There are some parts of the county that feel like they end up being underrepresented, especially when a 'plan one' is in place. And so by doing a 'plan three' there’s a better chance they get representation from all parts of the county."

The 10 Iowa counties with populations exceeding 60,000 people include Polk, Linn, Scott, Johnson, Black Hawk, Woodbury, Dubuque, Story, Pottawattamie and Dallas. Six of those county boards are controlled by Democrats and two — Polk and Linn — already use a "plan three" districting plan.

Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, said large counties shouldn't be singled out for change.

"You have set up a two-tiered system which is totally inequitable, and for that you should be ashamed," she said. "Because every county in the state should deserve the right to determine how they want to district and how they want those maps to look if they choose to go that route."

Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Bondurant, said he believes Iowa's statewide redistricting system "sets the standard" for the country, but called the redistricting process at the supervisor level "corrupt, corrosive and clearly illegitimate."

The changes proposed in the bill would help alleviate those concerns, he said.

"The challenge here is that our counties are doing the same things that Republicans in North Carolina or Democrats in Maryland have done," he said, referencing states facing concerns of partisan gerrymandering. "And that is unacceptable in Iowa, and our voters deserve better. We as a state should be holding our elected county supervisors accountable."

The bill was approved 58-38 with four people absent or not voting. It advances to the Iowa Senate.