Mark your calendars for redistricting

The Legislature's work of drawing boundaries for Oklahoma's legislative and congressional districts will occur next year, as it does every decade following the Census. Before the work begins, however, Oklahomans will get the chance to have their say. They should take advantage.

The state Senate and House recently announced the scheduled dates for town hall meetings across Oklahoma. The intent is to allow greater collaboration for a process that critics say has been secretive and too political.

The 2021 exercise follows an unsuccessful attempt this year by the group People Not Politicians to assign redistricting to a nine-person panel of nonelected officials. The group's initiative petition effort got derailed by COVID-19 and legal challenges, and the group subsequently withdrew the petition while vowing to track the process closely.

Among other things, People Not Politicians is submitting its own suggestions for new maps and is recruiting people from each House and Senate district to serve as “fair maps monitors.”

The group's concern is gerrymandering, although it's notable that Republicans gained control of the House and Senate while running in districts drawn by the former Democratic-controlled Legislature. Oklahoma has grown more red in the roughly 15 years since then; today, not one person in the 19-member Democratic House caucus represents a rural district.

Republicans' first crack at redistricting, following the 2010 Census, produced some squabbling from Democrats and an unsuccessful lawsuit by a Democratic senator. Last year in leaving it to states to draw their congressional districts, the U.S. Supreme Court said politics is naturally part of the process.

The Oklahoma town halls are meant to guide the politicians' work to some extent. The House and Senate each plan to hold nine meetings, beginning the second week of December and running through January. Attendees will be able to give input on House or Senate redistricting, regardless of which chamber is serving as host.

The town halls will be livestreamed as the facilities' abilities allow, and they will be archived and posted online. Each meeting will include an overview of the process and cover redistricting principles.

Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, chairman of the Senate's redistricting committee, said the town halls are part of the goal of conducting “an open and transparent redistricting process.” Paxton's cohort in the House, Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, called the meetings “the bread and butter of our public-driven redistricting process in the House.”

“All Oklahomans,” Martinez said, “can and should participate to take ownership of the process determining what their districts look like for the next decade.” He's right. The schedule of meetings is available at www. oksenate.gov and www. okhouse.gov, or by calling 405-962-7808.