SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — An anti-gerrymandering resolution up for consideration in the South Dakota legislature is gaining support from the state League of Women Voters.
House Joint Resolution 5002, introduced by House Minority Leader Jamie Smith, calls for an independent commission to draw legislative districts in the state. Districts are currently determined by the legislature every 10 years, with the next redrawing set for 2021.
“For 100 years, the League of Women Voters has worked to empower voters and defend democracy,” Amy Scott-Stoltz, president of the League of Women Voters of South Dakota, said in a release. “An Independent Redistricting Commission allows citizens to choose their elected officials instead of having elected officials choose their voters.”
The League says it’s teamed up with other organizations to form a coalition they are calling “Drawn Together SD” in support of the resolution.
If formed, the commission would be made up of five people, none of whom would be allowed to seek political office within three years of their service on the commission. They would be appointed by the majority and minority leaders of each house in the legislature and the Secretary of State.
From there, the commission would need to draw districts that are “equal in population to the extent practicable and mapped in a grid-like pattern across the state.”
