Redistricting alters political landscape

Southern York County to see major changes for next term

YORK, Maine When voters head to the polls to cast their ballot for state representative or senator, they had better check with their town clerk first. As of Jan. 1, many people in southern York County are going to be in a different district.

Cape Neddick residents who live east of Interstate 95 will join the majority of York residents in one House district. More Kittery residents will be added to that town's primary voting district; a small number will join a newly configured House district that includes all of Eliot and part of South Berwick. The majority of South Berwick residents now join many North Berwick residents in a new House district.

And stay tuned, York residents who live west of I-95. You will be in a House district with Ogunquit and parts of Wells and Sanford.

On top of all that, the district numbers themselves have been flipped so that, for instance, the former House District 151, which includes most of Kittery, is the new District 1.

Those elected to the new districts will be sworn in for the January 2015 legislative session. Until then, current districts remain in effect.

The road map for these new districts is set out in a little-publicized report completed last May by the Maine Apportionment Commission made up by equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats.

They worked quietly and cooperatively, said chairman Michael Friedman, a Bangor attorney. "I'd like to take credit, but I don't think I can," he said. "For once, there was a bipartisan committee that actually could work together. That's what happened."

According to Maine's Constitution, redistricting occurs every 10 years after the data from the U.S. Census is disseminated. The ideal population for a House district is 8,797, and for a Senate district, 37,953. Only a 10 percent deviation from that figure is allowed.

Several factors guided the commission. Both parties "would prefer not to have two incumbents running against each other," for one, said Friedman. The commission, he said, also tried to redraw districts with a minimum of impact to voters.

Read this article:
Redistricting alters political landscape