Senate approves congressional redistricting maps

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate on Friday overwhelmingly approved new maps for Oklahoma’s five congressional districts. The Senate also approved new district maps for the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Both bills go to the governor’s desk for consideration.

The congressional maps approved by the Senate:

• Draw more compact congressional districts than the current maps;
• Keep 87 percent of Oklahomans in the same congressional district; and
• Keep major military bases and related military communities in the same congressional districts.

“The maps approved by the Senate keep 87 percent of Oklahomans in the same congressional district and protect the multibillion-dollar investments made in Oklahoma’s military installations,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “The Senate’s redistricting process was open, transparent, and incorporated public input. The maps are better for all those reasons. I want to thank Senator Paxton for his leadership of the redistricting committee, and the redistricting staff for their terrific work.”

The Senate Select Committee on Redistricting, in conjunction with the House redistricting committee, held 30 town hall meetings in communities across the state, and solicited and received public comment.

“It has been a very rewarding experience to lead the Senate redistricting committee. I enjoyed traveling the state and hearing from Oklahomans about what they wanted to see in the legislative and congressional maps,” said Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle and chair of the Senate redistricting committee. “The maps consider the comments we heard and received. These maps are more compact than the current maps and will serve Oklahoma well for the next decade. I want to thank the redistricting committee members and staff for their cooperation and hard work.”

The Oklahoma Constitution requires legislative and congressional districts to be redrawn by the Legislature every 10 years. As required by federal statute to evenly divide congressional districts, Districts 1, 2 and 3 have populations of 791,871 each, and Districts 4 and 5 have populations of 791,870 each.