On Friday, the Oregon Supreme Court issued new deadlines for state legislative redistricting in light of the census redistricting data delay. The order extends state constitutional deadlines for legislative redistricting by three months. It does not address congressional redistricting in the state, which is governed by state statute. Read the opinion here.
In its opinion and order, the court explained that the revised deadlines will enable the Legislative Assembly and the Secretary of State to fulfill their constitutional duties “without significantly affecting the rights of voters or interfering with the 2022 general election cycle.” Practically speaking it observed that a reapportionment plan must become final before March 8, 2022, or it would derail the primary election scheduled to be held on May 17, 2022. The order also allows the legislature to meet in a special emergency session to pass a legislative map.
The legislature had petitioned the court to establish new deadlines while the Secretary of State argued in court pleadings that alternative data from the Population Research Center, housed at Portland State University could be used to adopt an initial plan and the court could make adjustments after federal census data is released if warranted. The court rejected that idea given that legislative history indicated that the constitutional provision was enacted to ensure that reapportionment occurs in conjunction with each federal census and reflects the data provided by that census.
If the Legislative Assembly enacts a plan, the following revised deadlines apply:
Revised Deadline for Legislature to Enact a Plan: Monday, September 27, 2021
Revised Deadline for Objections by Electors: Monday, October 25, 2021
Revised Deadline for the Court to File an Opinion Approving the Plan (if approved): Monday, November 22, 2021
Reapportionment plan Effective Date: January 1, 2022
Revised Deadline for the Court to File An Opinion Rejecting the plan: Monday, December 6, 2021
Deadline for Revisions to a Map (as directed by the court) by the Secretary of State : Monday, January 17, 2022.
Deadline for the Court’s Additional Corrections and/or Approval of Revisions: Monday, January 31, 2022.
The reapportionment plan will become effective Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Another set of deadlines apply in the instance that the legislature fails to enact a legislative map and the Secretary of State is required to draw a plan. Both sets of deadlines can be found in Appendix 2 of the court’s opinion.
