Rhode Island Lawmakers Approve New District Maps

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Rhode Island General Assembly approved legislation that would redraw the state's political districts. This includes the House of Representatives, Senate and U.S. Congress.

Rhode Island's constitution requires lawmakers to redraw the maps every 10 years, after the federal census. The draft maps were created by the state's Special Commission on Reapportionment, then sent to lawmakers for final approval. The legislation now heads to Gov. Dan McKee's desk for a signature.

"I’m proud of the work we were able to do in the redistricting commission," Sen. Stephen Archambault said. "We were able to commit to an openness and transparency every step of the way, so that all interested parties could see what was going on at all times. That includes maintaining a website that made all redistricting plans and census data available to the public and giving everyone access to the software that was used to redraw the maps."

Rep. Robert Phillips, who also served on the commission, said that it was "an honor and pleasure" to be a part of the process.

"I’m particularly proud of the fact that we obtained so much input from citizens around the state, holding our meetings in several cities and towns to make it more accessible to everyone," Phillips said. "Reapportionment can be daunting and complex, but I’m glad we took everyone’s concerns into account and came up with a fair and equitable system of reapportionment."