Last reviewed October 2022
Minnesota Issue Guide
Overview of Reapportionment and Redistricting in Minnesota
This guide is compiled by staff at the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library on a topic of interest to state legislators. It introduces the topic and points to sources for further research. It is not intended to be exhaustive.
Books and Reports • Articles • Internet Resources • Additional Library Resources
Drawing congressional and legislative district boundaries is a difficult political process. According to the Minnesota Constitution, article IV, sec. 3, "the legislature shall have the power to prescribe the bounds of congressional and legislative districts." It is "primarily a legislative responsibility; however, if the legislature fails to act after having adequate opportunity to do so the court should not allow elections under a constitutionally invalid scheme" (from Congressional and Legislative Reapportionment: A Legal History by House Research Department, 1970).
This guide provides a brief history and overview of the reapportionment and redistricting process in Minnesota. Each decennial redistricting process has a unique history. More specific and detailed redistricting guides are available by decade: 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020.
Reapportionment
Reapportionment is the reassignment of representatives proportionally among the states in accordance with changes in population distribution. According to the U.S. Constitution, article 2, section 2, the Census has one fundamental purpose: to ensure that the representation of each state is apportioned fairly in the 435 member U.S. House of Representatives according to population. Every ten years the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census to determine the population of each state, and then calculates the number of representatives based on a method of equal proportions. The representation of each state must reflect the relative size of its population as compared to other states. Minnesota has had eight congressional seats since the 1960 census.
Title 13, U.S. Code (section 141) requires that the apportionment population counts for each state be delivered to the President within nine months of the census date. In most 20th century censuses, the official census date has been April 1, meaning that the Office of the President received the counts by December 31 of each census year. The apportionment process does not affect U.S. Senate seats since each state has two senators, regardless of population.
After congressional reapportionment, the census population counts are used for redistricting congressional districts, legislative districts, and local government districts. Constitutional and statutory requirements include standards for using census data to make districts evenly proportioned.
Redistricting
After reapportionment, redistricting begins. Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. States determine their own methods for redistricting and they vary from state to state. In Minnesota, the state legislature plays the dominant role in legislative redistricting. Other states use commissions or a hybrid system to draw state legislative district lines. Each of Minnesota's 67 Senate districts includes within its boundaries two House districts for a total of 134 House districts and a combined total of 201 state legislative districts. Minnesota has eight congressional districts.
The process begins when redistricting plans are drafted and proposed, with the goal of coming to consensus on plans that meet the technical requirements of law. These plan proposals lay out specific legal boundaries for each district. Minnesota's nonpartisan Legislative Coordinating Commission is responsible for assisting the legislature in carrying out its redistricting responsibilities under Minnesota Statutes, section 2.91.
Plans are introduced as bills, often as two distinct bills - a congressional redistricting bill and a legislative redistricting bill. These bills must move through the legislative process like any other bill and must then be approved and signed by the Governor. The finalized plan must also stand up to any court challenges. The statutory deadline for new congressional and legislative districts is twenty-five weeks before the primary election (Minnesota Statutes, section 204B.14). Plans must be decided early enough to give sufficient time to prepare for the state elections in November of the year ending in two. If the Legislature is not able to adopt a plan by the statutory deadline, the matter is referred to the courts.
"Once the Legislature has passed a redistricting bill, the Governor will have the option of signing it or vetoing it. If he signs the bill, redistricting has been accomplished. If he vetoes the bill, the Legislature might vote to override the veto. If the veto withstands an override attempt, a new bill must be written, passed and sent to the Governor" (see Fact Sheet on Reapportionment and Redistricting by Tom Gillaspy, Minnesota's State Demographer, 2000).
Role of the Courts
If the legislature is unable to pass the redistricting bills, the courts may impose a plan until the legislature can pass one. Furthermore, any resident who believes their district to be mal-apportioned can bring a suit to court to require a plan. Minnesota's congressional and legislative plans have often been challenged in the courts.
According the History of Minnesota Legislative Redistricting and the History of Minnesota Congressional Redistricting by Alexis C. Stangl and Matt Gehring, courts have played a more significant role in the legislative redistricting process since 1950 and have drawn congressional plans since 1980. For more background on the roles of state courts and federal courts in redistricting litigation, see Chapter V, Prepare to Defend Your Plan in Both State and Federal Courts, from the treatise How to Draw Redistricting Plans That Will Stand Up in Court.
Local Redistricting
Once legislative districts are established, local units of government with districts apportioned by population must also redistrict. When all the districts have been determined, boundaries for election precincts are set. The Minnesota Redistricting Guide for County, City, Township, and School District Officials and Redistricting Guide by the Secretary of State's Office explain the process and outlines legal responsibilities of both local officials and the Office of the Secretary of State.
Significant Books and Reports
(See the specific redistricting guides by decade for more reports about this process: 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020.)
Congressional and Legislative Reapportionment: A Legal History. St. Paul: Research Department, Minnesota House of Representatives, 1970.
Gehring, Matt. Minnesota Redistricting Process: A Historical Overview. St. Paul: Research Department, Minnesota House of Representatives, 2011. (JK6168 G44 2011)
Gehring, Matt. Voting Rights Act Overview. St. Paul: Research Department, Minnesota House of Representatives, 2011.
Minnesota Redistricting Guide for County, City, Township, and School District Officials. St. Paul: Minnesota Secretary of State. (JK6168 .M562 2001)
2021 Redistricting Guide. St. Paul: Minnesota Secretary of State. (JK6168 .R43 2021)
Redistricting Law 2020 [Member login required to download]. Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures, 2019. (KF4905 .R42 2019)
Stangl, Alexis and Erickson, Andrew. Redistricting Principles for Congressional Districts in Minnesota: 1980-2010. St. Paul: Minnesota Legislature, Senate Counsel, Research, and Fiscal Analysis, 2021.
Stangl, Alexis and Erickson, Andrew. Redistricting Principles for Legislative Districts in Minnesota: 1980-2010. St. Paul: Minnesota Legislature, Senate Counsel, Research, and Fiscal Analysis, 2021.
Stangl, Alexis C., and Gehring, Matt. History of Minnesota Congressional Redistricting. St. Paul: Minnesota Legislature, Senate Counsel and Research and House Research Department, 2018. (JK1343.M6 S73 2018)
Stangl, Alexis C., and Gehring, Matt. History of Minnesota Legislative Redistricting. St. Paul: Minnesota Legislature, Senate Counsel and Research and House Research Department, 2018. (JK6168 .S73 2018)
Wattson, Peter. Districting Principles in Minnesota Courts. St. Paul: Peter S. Wattson, 2018. (JK6168 .W388 2018)
Wattson, Peter. Enacting a Redistricting Plan. St. Paul: Minnesota Senate, Office of Senate Counsel and Research, 1997. (KF4905.W38 1997)
Wattson, Peter. History of Minnesota Redistricting. St. Paul: Peter S. Wattson, 2021. (JK6168 .W39 2021)
Wattson, Peter. How to Draw Redistricting Plans That Will Stand Up in Court. St. Paul: Peter S. Wattson, 2021. (JK1341.W382 2021)
Significant Articles
(articles in reverse chronological order)
Tanick, Marshall H. "Perspectives: Redistricting Calmer Here 30 Years After Ruling." Minnesota Lawyer, March 2, 2023. (Ask your librarian for access to the article.)
Greenblatt, Alan. "Redistricting Battles." CQ Researcher, March, 2022. (Ask your librarian for access to the article.)
Schultz, David. "Redrawing the Political Map in the 21st Century." Minnesota Lawyer, February 23, 2021. (Ask your librarian for access to the article.)
Schultz, David. "163 Years of Power, People and Partisanship." Minnesota Lawyer, February 16, 2021. (Ask your librarian for access to the article.)
Henderson, Tim. "State Lawmakers Begin Once-a-Decade Redistricting Fight." Stateline, January 29, 2021.
Kaul, Greta. "Why Does Minnesota Have 201 Legislators?" MinnPost, February 12, 2020.
Boese, Brandon L. "The Controversy of Redistricting in Minnesota." William Mitchell Law Review, Vol. 39: Issue 4, Article 10, 2013.
Schultz, David. "A Short History of Redistricting in Minnesota." Politics in Minnesota, December 7, 2011. (Ask your librarian for access to the article.)
Shaw, Charlie. "Redistricting Has Been a Mess in Each of the Past Four Decades." Politics in Minnesota, October 6, 2010.
Lahammer, Gene. "Congressional Redistricting Anguish has Long History in Minnesota." Politics in Minnesota, January 29, 2010. (Ask your librarian for access to the article.)
Significant Internet Resources
Congressional Apportionment and History: Title 13, U.S. Code - U.S. Census Bureau.
Elections & Redistricting - From the Minnesota House Research Department.
Laws that Relate to Minnesota Legislative and Congressional Redistricting - From the Minnesota House Research Office.
Redistricting and Census - Recommended Resources from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
Redistricting - From the Minnesota Legislature's Geographic Information Systems office (Includes maps).
Redistricting - Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State.
Additional Library Resources
For historical information, check the following codes in the Newspaper Clipping File and the Vertical File:
For additional reports at the Legislative Reference Library, use these Library catalog searches:
Apportionment (Minnesota); Redistricting (Minnesota); Redistricting "Congressional Research Service"
For further information on redistricting see: