DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, Thursday, said his office is offering free software and training sessions to assist local governments with the redistricting process. 81 of Iowa’s 99 counties have signed up to utilize the Esri Redistricting Solution purchased by the Secretary of State’s Office and provided to Iowa cities and counties free of charge. Additionally, four-hour training sessions have been conducted to aid local governments with their redistricting plans.

According to Pate, “Due to the COVID pandemic, the 2020 Census data from the federal government was delayed and that has resulted in drastically shortening Iowa’s reprecincting and redistricting timeline. We need to utilize every tool possible to help local governments complete the process quickly, efficiently, and accurately. A process that usually takes 10 months will need to be done in just over two months. Thanks to the software we’re providing, that can be accomplished.”

The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA) creates the congressional and legislative maps, and they are strictly forbidden from using political data. Secretary Pate worked with LSA to determine which software application would be the best choice for reprecincting and redistricting for counties and cities. It was mutually agreed upon that Esri Redistricting Solution is a great fit.

Cities have 60 days and counties have 90 days to complete their maps after the Iowa Legislature approves the new congressional and legislative maps. New city and county precinct boundaries become effective January 15, 2022.