Legislature Holds Virtual Redistricting Meeting

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma House of Representatives and the State Senate redistricting offices held a virtual town hall meeting on the legislative redistricting process last night to answer questions and take comments from the public in real time.

“As elected officials whose duty is to serve the people of our districts, our goal for the redistricting process is to redraw districts based heavily on input from Oklahomans,” said State Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, chair of the House Redistricting Committee. “In the interest of transparency, we wanted to offer Oklahomans many chances to learn about the redistricting process and share their opinions. I’m grateful that Oklahomans across the state have the opportunity to participate in the democratic process virtually and voice their opinions or ask questions.”

“Given that redistricting will impact every Oklahoman and how they are represented at both the state and federal levels, it’s important that we get as much public input as possible. We know it’s a busy time of year but these virtual meetings provide a unique opportunity for citizens to easily share their thoughts and concerns about redistricting,” said State Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting. “We’ve been so pleased by the great turnout, and hope Oklahomans will continue tuning in to the remaining virtual redistricting meetings.”

Every 10 years, the Legislature is constitutionally required to redraw Oklahoma’s legislative and congressional district boundaries to reflect population changes following the decennial census. Redistricting plans for state legislative districts must be completed by May 28, 2021, the constitutionally mandated conclusion of the first regular legislative session following the end of the census. Congressional redistricting has no deadline, but the Legislature aims to complete its work in time for the 2022 elections.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Senate are hosting a series of town halls throughout the state in December and January to encourage public input in the redistricting process. The meetings are open to anyone who would like to attend.

Meetings are livestreamed when possible, and video is archived. Previous House meetings can be viewed here: https://okhouse. gov/Video/Default.aspx and Senate meetings can be viewed here: https:// oksenate. gov/ live-chamber.

Anyone unable to attend the meeting may email comments to the House at redistrictoklahoma2020@okhouse.gov, Senate at redistricting@oksenate.gov, or contact their state representative or state senator. All comments and public testimony will be shared with the committees.

The next virtual meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. The meeting link and additional details can be found here: https://www.okhouse.gov/Publications/Virtu-alMeets.aspx.

Information about other meetings scheduled across the state can be found here: https://oksenate.gov/press-releases/oklaho-ma-senate-house-an-nounce-statewide-redis-tricting-meeting-dates.

A map showing meetings throughout the state can be found here: https://okhouse.maps.arcgis.com/apps/in-stant/minimalist/index.html?appid=ef335bbb2dea41dc9eb4Ibb029d5a8800.

Additional information about the redistricting process can be found here: https://ok-house.gov/Publications/Redistricting.aspx.