Viewpoint: Drawing lines before counting voters

Census workers begin fanning out this week across the New Orleans area for an early start to the decennial count that begins next month for the rest of the state and nation, writes LaPolitics columnist John Maginnis. Official figures won’t be released until early 2011, and the Legislature will meet to draw new district lines about a year from now. Yet legislative committees already have circled the state to hold reapportionment briefings and one public official and an organization have even presented plans for redrawing congressional and state Senate districts. In getting around the state, I have noticed a greater-than-usual interest among citizens in reapportionment this year. That’s partly because the state’s relatively flat population growth all but ensures Louisiana will drop from seven U.S. representatives to six, and voters and local officials are curious, even nervous, about in whose district they will land. Also, once the Census solves the mystery of how many people actually live in post-Katrina New Orleans, that will give a better idea of how many legislative seats that region will lose–that’s when the real fight begins. To read the full column, click here.