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How state redistricting will affect you

The legislative House Districts approved by the state Districting and Apportionment Commission Friday will have some major impacts on who votes with whom, pending approval of the proposals by the 2013 Legislature. But how that will affect the makeup of the Montana Legislature itself after the 2014 elections is unclear.

The commission, comprising two Republicans, two Democrats and a nonpartisan chair, approved new House district lines late Friday night after more than a year of preparation and holding public meetings and collecting comment.

The districts are listed as tentative, and the commission website notes that that body could still revise the district lines at future meetings.

The biggest change in this region was the impact on Havre itself — the city and a bit of its outlying districts would now be one district, rather than split between two or three districts as it had been in the past.

Every 10 years, following the U. S. Census, a commission redraws the legislative lines for Montana House and Senate districts to reflect population changes. The decision often becomes politicized, with each side of the ticket claiming the other is trying to redraw districts for political advantage.

The new districts go into effect in 2014.

Local political leaders didn't make much comment on whether the Hi-Line redistricting would favor one party or another.

Hill County Republican Committee Chair Andrew Brekke said having Havre as one district and more rural areas as districts excluding Havre would give better representation for rural areas.

Hill County Democratic Chair John Musgrove said that, while he favored splitting Havre between districts, the Democrats could work with either format.

The change could have a major impact in who could run in the next election — four of the five candidates running for the races in districts that include Havre this election live in Havre.

Republican Rep. Wendy Warburton of House District 34 and her Democratic challenger, Karen Sloan, and Republican Rep. Kris Hansen of House District 33 and her Democratic challenger, Brenda Skornogoski, all are Havre residents.

Currently, HD 34 includes much of east Havre and stretches from northwestern Hill County into northern Blaine County, while HD 33 includes much of west Havre and western Hill County.

House District 32 includes a slice of southern Havre and goes into southern Hill and northeastern Chouteau counties, mainly along the lines of Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, then east through southern Blaine County until it encompasses the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

Democrat Clarena Brockie, who is running unopposed in the general election for the seat in HD 32, lives in Hays.

Whoever wins the elections in HD 33 and 34, one of the districts will disappear in Havre, excluding one set of candidates from running for re-election in 2014.

As the maps essentially add Havre as a new district, it also will create a new seat for the region, with four districts in Hill County instead of three.

The other major change in the new districts would be size.

The district replacing HD 32 does not change much in the maps approved Friday, outside of eliminating the chunk of Havre from the district and clearly excluding Chinook and Harlem, along with removing Dodson and adding most of Malta. The district is much shorter east to west, excluding the southwestern part of Valley County that now is in the district.

A major change is in the district immediately west of Havre. HD 33 now includes west Havre and extends in a triangle to include most of western Hill County.

The lines from the new district, HD 29, exclude most of Havre, and stretches farther west and south. The approved district includes all of Liberty County and Chouteau County, and a northern sliver of Cascade County.

Aside from the lines on HD 32, which actually shortens the district, and the Havre District, which is much smaller, the new lines will increase the distance between voters casting ballots in the same districts.

In the district replacing HD 34, the new HD 33, voters in North Havre will be casting ballots with voters in Glasgow, rather than with their neighbors in Havre.

In the district replacing HD 33, the new HD 29, voters in Kremlin, Chester and Whitlash now will be voting with people from Geraldine and from the outskirts of Great Falls.

 

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