Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission

As the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission prepares to submit its draft maps for approval, the commissioners continue to tweak congressional and legislative lines to their liking.

Each little change made sends a ripple effect through the state so the commission can meet the specific criteria needed to comply with the law.

The Show spoke producer Dillon Rosenblatt to learn how these changes — even the smallest ones — can affect specific districts throughout the state.

Commissioners have also debated several versions of the maps that’ll represent district boundaries for the next decade.

To get a sense of what the process of creating those maps is like, The Show spoke with Willie Desmond, a vice president with HaystaqDNA, a data and analytics firm. It was also, under the name Strategic Telemetry, the technical mapping consultant to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission during the last round, when Desmond served as the lead map drawer.

The firm is not working in Arizona this year, although it is helping the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, as well as some smaller municipalities.

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