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Nebraska state senators go back to the drawing board on redistricted congressional map

Posted at 10:16 AM, Sep 20, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-20 11:16:26-04

LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — Nebraska state senators are currently in a special session in Lincoln looking to redistrict maps as constitutionally required every ten years.

Senators were looking to wrap up the session and pass the new maps by the end of the month so cities and counties could get ready for next year's elections, but they hit a snag last week when the initial congressional map was rejected.

A map made by unicameral republicans split Douglas County north to south and put the state's largest county into two congressional districts.

Democrats and a few Republicans did not vote for the map and successfully filibustered it.

Now as Douglas County continues to change and vote more democratically, political expert J Miles Coleman said Republicans in the legislature have a challenge.

"Demographically, what the republicans are trying to account for is in some ways the second district has more in common with a state like Massachusetts than it does rural Nebraska," said Coleman.

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