The Idaho Supreme Court has upheld the state’s new map redrawing Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. The court found four separate lawsuits against the Idaho Commission for Reapportionment failed to show the way the map split some counties was unreasonable.
The unanimous ruling written by Justice John Stegner was released Thursday afternoon. The bipartisan Idaho Commission for Reapportionment is tasked every 10 years with redrawing voting districts based on the most recent census.
Former Idaho lawmaker Branden Durst initially filed the lawsuit under the premise the new map is unconstitutional as it splits up more counties than necessary. Two additional lawsuits were then filed before the Court consolidated the three into one lawsuit.
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The lawsuits contended the new map split too many counties, but the high court said the commission did a laudable job of balancing the state prohibition against splitting counties unnecessarily against the federal equal protection clause.
