Iowa

Congressional & Legislative

Primary Authority: Congressional and legislative maps are drawn and proposed by the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) and enacted by the General Assembly, subject to the Governor’s veto. The General Assembly can override a veto with a 2/3 vote in each chamber. No party currently has a veto-proof majority in either chamber. [Iowa Const. art. III, § 35; Iowa Code §§ 42.2, 42.3]

If a bill is presented to the Governor during session, the Governor has 3 days to sign or veto it; otherwise, it becomes law without signature. If the bill is delivered during the last 3 days of the session, the Governor must sign or veto it within 30 days of session adjournment; otherwise, it is pocket vetoed. Sundays are excluded from these calculations.

Advisory Authority: A 5-member temporary redistricting advisory commission is established to administer and coordinate public hearings and input on the LSA’s proposed plans. The majority and minority leaders of the Iowa House and Senate each appoint 1 member and those 4 initial members then appoint a 5th member with at least 3 affirmative votes. Commission members must be eligible Iowa voters and must not hold public office or political party office, be a relative of or employee of a member of Congress or the Iowa General Assembly or be directly employed by those institutions. [Iowa Code §§ 42.1, 42.5, 42.6]

Backup Authority: If the General Assembly fails to enact legislative plans by its deadline, they are adopted by the Iowa Supreme Court. There is no backup process for congressional plans. [Iowa Const. art. III, § 35]

Mapping Timeline: The advisory commission must be established by February 15 of years ending in 1. The LSA must submit one bill with proposed congressional and legislative plans to the General Assembly by April 1 of years ending in 1. The advisory commission must then hold at least 3 public hearings in different geographic regions of the state and submit a report of public input to the General Assembly no later than 14 days after the bill is delivered. Within 3 days of that report’s delivery, the General Assembly must vote on the bill without amendment and, if rejected, must deliver the reasons for such rejection to the LSA within 7 days of the bill’s failure.

If rejected or vetoed, the LSA must prepare and submit a 2nd bill containing proposed congressional and legislative plans within 35 days of the 1st bill’s failure or veto. The advisory commission is not required to hold hearings beyond the 1st plan. The General Assembly must vote on the new bill without amendment within 7 days of its submission. If the bill is rejected or vetoed, the LSA must prepare and submit a 3rd bill of proposed plans within 35 days of the 2nd bill’s failure or veto and “sufficiently in advance” of September 1 of years ending in 1. The General Assembly must vote on the new bill without amendment within 7 days of its submission.

The General Assembly must complete redistricting by September 1 of years ending in 1. If legislative plans are not adopted by September 15 of years ending in 1, the Iowa Supreme Court must adopt legislative plans by December 31 of that year. [Iowa Const. art. III, § 35; Iowa Code §§ 42.3, 42.5, 42.6]

Redistricting Criteria:

• Congressional: As nearly equal in population as practicable (max. 1% deviation); No split counties; Minimize divisions of political subdivisions and, if necessary, prioritize splitting larger political subdivisions; Contiguous; Not irregularly shaped and reasonably compact (measured by length-width compactness & perimeter compactness); Contain whole senatorial and representative districts so far as possible.
• Legislative: Contiguous; As nearly equal in population as practicable (max. 5% deviation); Not irregularly shaped and reasonably compact (measured by length-width compactness & perimeter compactness); Minimize divisions of political subdivisions and, if necessary, prioritize splitting larger political subdivisions; Senate districts contain whole representative districts so far as possible.
• PROHIBITED (Both): Favoring political parties, incumbents, or other persons or groups; Use of following data: addresses of incumbents; political affiliations of registered voters; previous election results; demographic information other than population counts. [Iowa Const. art. III, §§ 34, 37; Iowa Code § 42.4]

Map Challenges: Filed in the Iowa Supreme Court. Any qualified voter can file an application for review of an enacted redistricting plan’s compliance with the Iowa Constitution. Within 90 days of the Court’s invalidation of a plan, the Court must adopt a plan or cause one to be adopted. [Iowa Const. art. III, § 36]

Ballot Measure & Referendum Processes

Types of Measures: Only the Iowa General Assembly can refer amendments to the ballot. There is no initiative or referendum process. [Iowa Const. art. X]

Previous Redistricting Cycles

2020

• Congressional
  • Original Plan – SF 621 (Legislative Services Agency’s 2nd Proposed Plan)
    • Passed = October 28, 2021 (R-controlled)
    • Signed = November 4, 2021
  • Litigation History
    • None
• Legislative
  • Original Plan – SF 621 (Adopting Legislative Services Agency’s 2nd Proposed Plan)
    • Passed = October 28, 2021 (R-controlled)
    • Signed = November 4, 2021
  • Litigation History
    • In the Matter of Reapportionment of State Sen. and Rep. Districts, No. 21-1281 (Iowa Sept. 14, 2021): Article III, § 35 of the Iowa Constitution provides that the Iowa General Assembly, with aid from the Legislative Services Agency (LSA), must complete the legislative redistricting process by September 1 of the reapportionment year and that if a legislative redistricting plan is not enacted by September 15, the Iowa Supreme Court must cause the state to be reapportioned prior to December 31 of that year. The LSA indicated that it would not be able to meet this deadline as a result of the delayed release of 2020 Census population data, and therefore, on September 14, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an order permitting the redistricting authorities to prepare a redistricting plan by December 1.

2010

• Congressional
  • Original Plan – HF 682 (Adopting Legislative Services Agency’s 1st Proposed Plan)
    • Passed = April 18, 2011 (Split-control)
    • Signed = April 19, 2011
  • Litigation History
    • None
• Legislative
  • Original Plan – HF 682 (Adopting Legislative Services Agency’s 1st Proposed Plan)
    • Passed = April 18, 2011 (Split-control)
    • Signed = April 19, 2011
  • Litigation History
    • None

2000

• Congressional
  • Original Plan – HF 758 (Adopting Legislative Services Agency’s 2nd Proposed Plan)
    • Passed = June 19, 2001 (R-controlled)
    • Signed = June 22, 2001
  • Litigation History
    • None
• Legislative
  • Original Plan – HF 758 (Adopting Legislative Services Agency’s 2nd Proposed Plan)
    • Passed = June 19, 2001 (R-controlled)
    • Signed = June 22, 2001
  • Litigation History
    • None

In The News

• Iowa Legislature Approves Redistricting Proposal, The Hill (10/28/21)
• Iowa Senate Republicans Reject First Proposed Redistricting Maps; Wait Goes on for Political Boundaries, Des Moines Register (10/5/21)
• Here are the First Round of Congressional and Legislative Maps Proposed Under Redistricting in Iowa, Des Moines Register (9/16/21)
• Iowa Governor Calls Special Legislative Session to Draw New Political Maps, Iowa Public Radio (9/14/21)
• Iowa Supreme Court Sets New Deadline for Approval of Redistricting Plan, Radio Iowa (9/14/21)
• Iowa Official Says Expect First Redistricting Maps Sept. 16, AP (8/17/21)
• Davenport Lawyer Replaces DeJear on Redistricting Commission, AP (7/6/21)
• Legislative Redistricting on Hold Until Iowa Gets ‘Granular’ Census Data, The Gazette (4/30/21)
• Iowa Supreme Court Says it’s Ready to Handle Redistricting, AP (4/8/21)
• Redistricting Commission Considers Three Options for Chairperson, Iowa Capital Dispatch (3/1/21)
• Iowa's Bipartisan Redistricting Commission Begins to Take Shape Despite Census Delays, Des Moines Register (2/15/21)
• Democrats Uneasy Over Redrawing Iowa Election Districts, The Gazette (1/4/21)
• Delay in Releasing Census Data may Force Special Session of Iowa Legislature, The Gazette (12/23/20)
• Coronavirus Likely to Delay Iowa Legislative Redistricting, Gazette Des Moines Bureau (6/8/20)