Today: Testify on Legislative Redistricting

As the state legislature works on redrawing Senate and House district lines based on 2010 Census numbers, a group called Draw the Line Minnesota wants to make sure redistricting is done fairly. 

Draw the Line Minnesota, led by the Minnesota League of Women Voters, is a network of nonprofit organizations working to reform the redistricting process in Minnesota.

Draw the Line, an independent and nonpartisan group, has two primary goals: producing maps through a fair, open and participatory process and to model a process that can inform discussions about larger reform.

To keep the redistricting process open, a citizens commission has been created.

The group is hosting two meetings, one prior to the drafting of maps and one after. The first meeting, for Minnesota's Third Congressional District, is 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16, at Minnetonka City Hall.

The organization says much is at stake and that the redistricting process ultimately determines:

• How your community is defined
• Who you have the opportunity to vote for
• What kinds of policies and issues get debated
• What happens to your tax dollars
• How the complex set of challenges we face are handled (or not)