Debate has begun on legislative redistricting proposals.
The Nebraska Legislature reviews its district lines after each census. Districts must be similar in population without dividing like communities.
Senators are considering two primary proposals, one from Sen. Linehan and one from Sen. Wayne. Each would change the boundaries of District 24, the district Seward County is in.
Linehan’s would put Seward into a district (23) with Saunders and Butler counties. Wayne’s would move Polk County out of District 24 and add a piece of southwestern Lancaster County to Seward’s district.
Sen. Mark Kolterman, who represents District 24, wrote in his column last week that he did not agree with Linehan’s plan.
“Under LR 134, district boundaries shall follow county lines whenever practicable. The district in which Seward County would be located clearly fails this test as it would contain Butler County, relatively half of Saunders County and Schuyler, which is in Colfax County,” he wrote.
It also does not preserve the core of District 24, as provided for in LR134, nor does it preserve communities of interest, since it would split the Centennial school district and Four Corners Health Department, Kolterman said.
