UPDATE: Today, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed Senate Bill 1 and Assembly Bill 1, fulfilling the constitutional obligation to ensure representation is reflective of the State’s population, according to the latest Census figures.
“After a thoughtful, efficient and productive session, I am proud to sign these bills into law today,” said Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak. “These maps reflect Nevada’s diversity and reflect public feedback gathered throughout the legislative process. I want to thank members of the Nevada Legislature, including Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, for their partnership in this process.”
UPDATE: The Nevada Legislature has approved final redistricting plans, ending the state's 33rd Special Session.
Earlier, the Nevada Assembly passed Senate Bill 1 to redistrict the state’s congressional and legislative maps, 25-17. Every Republican and one Democrat voted against the bill.
SB1 now goes to Governor Sisolak where he is expected to sign it into law.
Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson and Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro released the following statement upon the completion of the 33rd Special Session and the passage of new maps for Nevada’s congressional, legislative, and Board of Regents districts.
“We thank our tireless staff, our colleagues, and our constituents for participating in this special session. The maps passed today reflect our diverse and vibrant state and set us on a path for the next ten years where the voices of all those who call Nevada home are represented.”
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ORIGINAL STORY:
The Nevada Assembly approved a change to the proposed redistricting map. It came after a committee hearing that saw a 7-4 party-line vote on an amendment to Senate Bill 1. The Senate Democrats already passed the original bill in a 12-9 party-line vote.
Nevada's congressional and legislative districts will look different over the next 10 years. Perhaps the biggest changes in Washoe County will happen in Senate District 15 and Assembly District 25. Both will shrink and have a much higher democratic voter registration.
"The definition of gerrymandering is for the majority party to reshape districts to give them a registration advantage and I believe that that's what we're seeing here in Senate District 15 and Assembly District 25,” Assem. Jill Tolles, R-Reno said.
"Not everybody is going to agree but that's what our effort is at reflecting the direction the state's going and the Nevada population and that's what I believe that we've done,” Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas said.
Monday's changes include one that will keep Sun Valley in one district instead of splitting up. It makes changes to nine districts in northern and western Nevada.
"Verdi, parts of Somersett and Cold Springs are all going to be divvied out into neighboring districts,” Tolles said.
"It is incredibly, incredibly difficult to have a state that is as spread out as Nevada is geographically to be as close as we need to be with respect to deviation to get it right,” Frierson said.
Another change allocates Nevada's prisoners to their home address instead of where they are incarcerated. Another redraws the congressional lines to keep all of the Walker River Paiute Reservation in CD4 and puts more of Lyon County in CD2. No one testified in favor of the maps but about 20 spoke in opposition. Most of them voiced concerns over racial and ethnic impacts of the new districts.
"Under the proposed maps, the Latinx community in East Las Vegas would become an effective minority, unable to overcome the affluent high voting areas of Boulder City, Seven Hills, MacDonald Ranch and others,” Holly Welborn, Policy Director for ACLU of Nevada said.
"The Latinx community is the largest community in CD1 with over 300,000 residents and the proposed map is blatantly disregarding their priorities and needs," Emily Persaud-Zamora, Executive Director of Silver State Voices said.
29 of Nevada's 63 legislative districts have nonwhite majorities. That was just seven back in 2011. 11 of those are 40% Hispanic. That is one less than 10 years ago.
