State Lawmakers Discuss When to Begin Redistricting

by Dan Conti, Kentucky Public RadioMembers of the Kentucky General Assembly's Task Force on Elections are at odds over when to begin redrawing legislative districts based on the 2010 Census.It could either be done during a special session this year or during the regular session which begins in January."It can be done relatively easy in about a five day session if everybody comes prepared with their plans, vote them up or vote them down, amend them if we have to. I truly believe we ought to have one probably in September or October," says Senator Walter Blevins, an eastern Kentucky Democrat.The General Assembly will have to approve a state budget in their next session, and Blevins says the special session would allow lawmakers to focus only on redistricting."It is time consuming and it's very personal with each member. I don't think we'll have to have a special session," says Representative John Will Stacy," who is also a Democrat from eastern Kentucky. "We've done it both ways. I've been on the General Assembly long enough to have been through it a couple of times. We've done it in a special session, but we've also done it in regular sessions."Stacy further argues that a special session would cost the taxpayers money.