Wyoming LAP Book - Redistricting

BRIEF HISTORY OF WYOMING LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING

      Wyoming's 1992 legislative elections were the first in the state's history to be held by legislative district. Until that time, legislators were elected at-large by county, with the larger counties electing more legislators to both the House and Senate.
      Unlike the U.S. Congress, where each state is represented equally in the Senate and proportionately by population in the House, both houses of a state legislature must be apportioned according to population.
      The at-large system was ended by a lawsuit brought by a group of citizens who successfully contended that it did not provide equal representation as required by the U.S. Constitution.
      For example, Niobrara County had one representative for approximately 2500 people, while Washakie County had one representative for approximately 8000 people.
      Besides the inequity in representation, another damaging aspect of the at-large system was the inability to hold individual candidates accountable when all the candidates in counties with several legislators were running in a "pack."
      After the citizens won the lawsuit, the 1992 Legislature fashioned a legislative districting system comprised of 30 single-member Senate districts. Each Senate district was divided to form two single-member House districts, creating a 60-member House of Representatives.
      Thus every Wyoming citizen, regardless of residence, has one Representative and one Senator in the Legislature.
      The new legislative districting system is not perfect - but one of its principal advantages is greatly increased accountability. With only one Representative and Senator apiece, it is possible for Wyoming citizens to more accurately assess the performance of their own representatives and senators in Cheyenne.
      During the 2002 legislative session, legislators will undertake Wyoming's first "redistricting" - redrawing legislative district lines to recognize population changes identified by the 2000 federal census. The Joint Interim Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee took the lead on this task during the 2001 interim, and will present a redistricting plan to the 2002 Legislature (HB 75). The ESPC supports the Committee's redistricting proposal.