Redistricting committee proposes to eliminate District 23

Editor's Note: This story has been updated from the original version that ran online last Saturday. The map and other details have been updated to reflect the changes discussed in committee meetings this past week.

On Sept. 23, North Dakota's redistricting committee approved its preliminary map of the state's legislative districts for the coming decade, setting up major changes for Eddy County and its legislators.

Since the 2020 census data was released earlier this year, 16 legislators on North Dakota's redistricting committee (14 Republicans and two Democrats) have been hard at work redrawing the state's 47 districts.

The committee's proposal eliminates District 23 and splits Eddy County between two districts. Most of the county would be added to District 14, while Spirit Lake Nation, which includes a chunk of northeastern Eddy County, would join District 15.

Further, due to section five of the N.D. Constitution, which states that a legislator must reside in the district they represent, such a change would force one of the most powerful Democrats in the state, Sen. Joan Heckaman of New Rockford, out of the legislature entirely.

As a resident of New Rockford since 1985 and with no intentions of moving elsewhere, Sen. Heckaman would be forced to run for office in District 14, a district that hasn't elected a Democrat in at least four decades.

"If Eddy County goes into District 14, which it sounds like it will, and we don't increase the number of voters by over 25 percent or the landmass by 25 percent, District 14 will not have to have an election in 2022 because they're an even-numbered district." explained Sen. Heckaman.

As an even-numbered district, District 14 held its election in 2020, and won't hold one again until 2024. If the addition of Eddy County increased District 14's landmass or population by more than 25 percent, it would be required to move up its election to 2022, but it doesn't.  

In other words, even if Democrats had a chance in District 14, there wouldn't be an election to run in for three years, putting Sen. Heckaman out of a job at least temporarily.

As the Senate Minority Leader and one of only a few Democrats in the state's capitol, Sen. Heckaman is an important and powerful voice for the Democratic Party, and she feels her seat is being targeted by the Republican-controlled committee.

"Oh yeah, they would know if they wanted to keep me in there that they could put Foster County in 23, and we'd have a great legislative district," said Sen. Heckaman. "It's a choice that they're making."

However, redistricting committee chairman and District 23 representative Bill Devlin, argues that no gerrymandering has occurred during the redistricting process.

"There was no plan to target Senator Heckaman," said Rep. Devlin. "No gerrymandering took place. She has been one of my favorite people to serve with in the legislature. She will have every opportunity to run again, in a new district, if she chooses. Rep. Boschee is absolutely correct, there were no political decisions involved."

Rep. Josh Boschee is one of two Democrats on the redistricting committee. After voting in favor of the preliminary proposal, Rep. Boschee was quoted as saying, "It was everything I've been advocating for, and that was that it shouldn't be political."

Rep. Devlin went on to say, "My priorities have always been to maintain county lines as much as possible, keep politics out of our decisions, keep reservations whole, do not look at how things affect you personally, but try to make the best decision for our area and state as we look ahead to the next 10 years."

With the population of rural communities plummeting statewide, rural districts simply can't remain the same. And because the overall population of North Dakota has increased, each district must come within 5 percent of having 16,576 residents, roughly 2,000 more than was required during the 2011 redistricting process.

The result is that a number of incumbent legislators will be faced with a battle for their political lives. Should they decide to run for re-election, District 23 Representatives Devlin and Don Vigesaa would have to run in the primary against the current House Majority Leader, Chet Pollert, and Rep. Craig Headland in 2022 for seats in the new District 29.

"Another example would be District 20, where there are now six incumbent Republican legislators who will face off with each other in the primary, if they wish to run," explained Rep. Devlin. "In that case, the two Senators and four House members all ended up in the same District. It had absolutely nothing to do with politics or political party."

Meanwhile, the Democrats' plan would keep District 23 intact, and add Foster County in order to meet the required number of residents.

"Our plan is to keep the district the same, and if we add Foster County we're within less than 100 [residents] of the 16,500 we would need in this district," Heckaman said. "And we're keeping the continuity of people joining together in your political parties, the Democrats and Republicans from District 23 would still be together.

"We just looked at straight lines, continuity of what districts are right now, and followed the rules and regulations they put out," Heckaman added. "And we drew up some pretty neat looking districts. I think they were very well configured and met the criteria." The Democrats' proposed map is shown above.

Nevertheless, the Democrat's proposal didn't have the support or the votes. On Thursday, Sept. 23, the redistricting committee's preliminary map was approved, allowing legislative council to begin ironing out legal details.

On Sept. 28 and 29, the committee reconvened to address a number of requests, including a request from an Eddy County Auditor and commissioner to keep all of Eddy County in the same district.

According to the census data, there are 117 residents in the section of Eddy County that includes the Spirit Lake Nation Reservation, only three of which identify as American Indian. However, it was noted by the Committee that American Indians were undercounted in the 2020 census.

Rep. Boschee argued that dividing reservations opens the state up to possibile litigation, and the room seemed to agree. After a brief discussion, no motion was made to address the Eddy County officials' request, deciding instead to prioritize keeping the Spirit Lake Nation Reservation whole.

Rep. Devlin further explained, "The decision was made to move the Spirit Lake Reservation into 15 with Devils Lake as they are communities of common interest, which is one of the requirements of the voting rights act."

Other tweaks included extending District 14 into Burleigh County, moving Oberon into District 15, and changing the numbers assigned to certain districts out west. A more significant change was made regarding subdivisions for the Turtle Mountain and Fort Berthold Reservations, allowing them to have their own representative in the N.D. legislature.

The new map won't be made official until legislators convene in a special legislative session on November 8 to discuss and vote on the final bill draft. Residents who wish to express their opinion on the current proposal are encouraged to contact their legislators and follow along with the redistricting process.

To watch committee hearings and legislative sessions, or to view all the proposed redistricting maps, residents can visit legis.nd.gov.