redistricting

A final congressional map outlining the state's two U.S. House districts was submitted to the Montana secretary of state’s office Friday. Montana’s redistricting commission reversed course on an earlier amendment.

After one amendment, state officials Tuesday adopted a final map that divides Montana into two congressional districts.The map creates east-west districts with Lewis and Clark County in the east. It splits Pondera County in north central Montana.

The commission will take public comment on the map, known as CP-12, ahead of its next meeting in less than a week. The map could be tweaked, but must be finalized and submitted by Nov. 14.

Montana’s redistricting commission has again kicked the can down the road on picking a final congressional map that splits the state into two federal districts.

The most contentious debate between commissioners and the public has come down to whether the two districts should be politically competitive and how to define compactness.

The commission in charge of drawing Montana’s new political boundaries remains stuck in a deadlock over how to split the state into two congressional districts.

There is no bipartisan support for any of the nine possible Congressional maps under consideration by the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission.

Montana’s bipartisan redistricting commission has narrowed down the possibilities for congressional maps that would create two U.S. House seats in the state for the first time in 30 years.

In a few months, Montana’s Districting and Apportionment Commission will finalize the state’s new maps outlining political districts. To kick things off, they’re looking at map submissions from the public.

Last week the U.S. Census Bureau published more granular data on Montana’s demographic changes. That information will be used to delineate the boundaries of the state’s two new future districts. The officials in charge of that job met Tuesday to establish an official timeline.