Proposed state districts unveiled
More legislative seats possible for OKC area
The Oklahoma City metro area is poised to gain representation in the statehouse for the next decade.
Proposed redistricting maps for Oklahoma's 149 legislative districts that GOP state lawmakers unveiled Wednesday show the Oklahoma City metro area gaining one Senate seat and one House seat.
The gains are reflective of population shifts that show rural areas losing population and population growth in the Oklahoma City area outpacing growth in Tulsa.
In the past 10 years, population in Oklahoma, Cleveland and Canadian counties grew by about 140,000 people, said Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting.
“This is not an urban versus rural thing,” he said. “This is a numbers thing, and it's just where the population ends up.”
Redistricting details
Because of lags in U.S. Census
Bureau data, state lawmakers and redistricting staff drew the proposed maps based on 2015-2019 American Community Survey data.
Redistricting occurs every decade following the Census. Oklahoma’s constitution requires state lawmakers to pass new legislative districts by the end of the 2021 legislative session, which must conclude by 5 p.m. May 28.
State lawmakers will undertake congressional redistricting in a special session likely in October. The Census Bureau said redistricting data will be delivered to states by Sept. 30.
Lawmakers say they will be able to tweak the legislative districts during the special session if the Census Bureau data is drastically different than the American Community Survey data, which also comes from the Census Bureau.
Oklahoma’s legislative redistricting process allows for a 5% variance in population levels across legislative districts. However, no such variance is allowed when drawing congressional districts, so using population estimates isn’t precise enough.
Where the OKC area made gains
The Oklahoma City metro area is slated to gain Senate District 18 and House District 36 as a result of population gains.
Senate District 18, which currently covers parts of Cherokee, Mayes, Muskogee, Tulsa and Wagoner counties, is currently represented by Senate Majority Leader Kim David, who will be term limited out of office in 2022.
The new Senate District 18 will cover parts of Canadian and Oklahoma counties.
Similarly, House District 36, which currently covers parts of Tulsa and Osage counties, is represented by Rep. Sean Roberts, who is also in his final term in the House.
House District 36 will be relocated to eastern Oklahoma County and the northwestern corner of Cleveland County and will include the cities of Luther, Jones, Harrah and Choctaw.
Oklahoma City House districts that used to be blended urban-rural seats will now be mostly just be urban-suburban districts, said Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, chairman of the House State and Federal Redistricting Committee.
“You’ll see the shrinking of House districts that start to center around population centers,
Where current state lawmakers live was taken into account in the redistricting process, said the GOP lawmakers who led the process. No incumbents were drawn out of their districts.
“We’re under the belief that the people of Oklahoma should decide not to send somebody back to the Capitol building, not somebody drawing district lines,” Martinez said. “Everybody up here has been duly elected by the people of Oklahoma and the people of Oklahoma should have a say when that person’s time in the legislature should end.”
People Not Politicians Executive Director Andy Moore criticized that the legislature did not release the maps in “useful” electronic formats that could be used to determine how the maps compare to current maps and maps that were publicly submitted.
People Not Politicians has advocated for an independent redistricting process, in which elected officials have no say in drawing political districts.
“The maps released today by the state legislature look remarkably similar to the existing maps and are clear evidence that the politicians are content to maintain the status quo,” he said in a statement.
Other factors taken into account
Lawmakers and redistricting staff were tweaking the proposed maps until the early morning hours the same day the maps were unveiled.
Republican lawmakers that lead the two redistricting committees said they took into account public comments gathered over 20 public meetings spread across several months.
This was also the first year the Legislature accepted publicly submitted maps, and suggestions from the seven submitted House maps and nine submitted Senate suggestions were also taken into account, Martinez said.
“When the House started its work back in September of 2020, we committed to conducting the most transparent and inclusive redistricting process in Oklahoma’s history,” Martinez said. “I believe, and I think, that after seeing today’s plan, you will agree that the process thus far will be a reflection on those promises.”
Each proposed Senate district includes about 81,935 Oklahomans, up from 78,153 in the current districts. Each proposed House district includes roughly 38,939 residents.
The House plan retains a majority Hispanic district in Oklahoma City and three majority African American districts, two of which are in Oklahoma City and one in Tulsa.
Both plans try to preserve “communities of interest,” or populations with similar needs and concerns.
The House plan tried, when possible, not to split small towns and municipalities into multiple districts, and took into consideration school district boundaries and district lines tried to follow main roads, highways and rivers, Martinez said.
In the Senate, the proposed districts are more compact and 54 counties will not be split into multiple Senate districts. In the current legislative districts, 51 counties are not split into multiple districts.
What happens next?
Legislative district maps will have to be approved through the typical legislative process. Maps will be introduced next week in the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting and the House State and Federal Redistricting Committee.
Legislative district maps will follow the usual legislative process.
House district maps must be approved by the House and then the Senate. Senate district maps must be approved by the Senate and then the House before Gov. Kevin Stitt gets the final say on both maps.
If Oklahomans have questions or concerns about the proposed maps, they can reach out to their state legislators. Oklahomans can also email questions or concerns to redistricting@oksenate.gov or redistricting@okhouse.gov.
For more information about Oklahoma’s redistricting, go to okhouse.gov or oksenate.gov/redistricting.