A ten-member commission chosen by Gov. Jay Nixon to draw a new map for Missouri’s State Senate districts has reached a tentative agreement.The agreement came after more than 13 hours of negotiations that stretched into the early morning hours.
The five Democrats and five Republicans voted eight to two for the new map, with one member from each party voting “no.” Next, it will be filed with the Secretary of State’s office for a 15-day period, during which the Office of Administration will accept public comments. Then a final vote will be held after the 15-day period. Democrat Doug Harpool chairs the commission, and says he’s confident it will win approval.
“It would take something completely unexpected, you know, if somebody finds something in the map that we completely missed, then I would certainly reconsider…but absent that, it would be very difficult to get me to change my mind,” Harpool said.
A State Senate map drawn by a six-judge panel last year was tossed out by the Missouri Supreme Court.
