There's a move at the Capitol to change the way the state draws the political boundary lines for state and federal offices. It's a chore states have to tackle every ten years.
State Representative Spencer Black of Madison wants to take the job of redistricting away from the legislature and the Governor, and hand it over to an independent commission.
He says because of the way district lines are drawn now, many elections in the state are already decided before voters even go to the polls. “I have concluded that when politicians draw the lines, they have only one thing in mind, getting themselves re–elected. When politicians redraw their own districts, the process takes longer and costs more.”
Black says a lawsuit to settle the last redistricting squabble cost the state more than $2 million in legal fees. He says Iowa has been able to do the job cheaper and quicker with a non-partisan agency.
