Redistricting Takes Shape

Wyoming is going through the process of redistricting in efforts to make the state’s districts numerically even.  To that end, the state’s 23 county clerks met last week to help put together a plan to be taken to the Wyoming Legislature in February.  Representative Keith Gingery explains that after a census, states are mandated to balance the districts according to population.  Currently, Gingery says, each district is made up of about 8500 people.  In addition to numbers, Gingery says the redistricting attempts to group the populations that have similar interests as the primary focus. Gingery says the districts drawn by the state’s county clerks look very acceptable and are supported by all the Teton County’s elected.  The currently proposed plan removes Dubois and East and North Jackson from Representative Gingery’s district.  At the same time, Representative Ruth Ann Petroff’s district becomes the corporate boundaries of the Town of Jackson; and while Representative Jim Roscoe loses Pinedale from his district he retains Boundarant in Sublette County and gains Bedford, Turnerville, Etna, and Star Valley Ranches in Lincoln County.  The new boundary between Representative Gingery’s district and Representative Roscoe’s district will be Highway 22 on the west side of the Snake River and Representative Roscoe will have Hog Island and Hoback Junction in his district.