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By Dillon Rosenblatt | Arizona Capitol Times
Candidates for Congress and the state Legislature can now collect signatures for office using the current redistricting lines for the 2022 election.
Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday signed SB1107 into law, a bill from Republican Sen. J.D. Mesnard, which had an emergency clause attached, meaning it becomes law from the governor’s signature rather than on the state’s general effective date. Emergency Clause legislation requires two-thirds votes in both chambers; this bill passed through unanimously.
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Given the Census Bureau’s ongoing data delays, new maps with whatever the state’s 30 legislative districts and soon-to-be 10 Congressional districts look like is still unclear and won’t be known until the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission draws the new lines by January – the deadline for which IRC Chair Erika Neuberg said she was aiming.
What this bill ultimately means is someone like Sen. Kirsten Engel, D-Tucson or Rep. Walter Blackman, R-Snowflake can collect signatures in their current congressional districts of two and one, respectively even though their residences might be drawn into completely different districts come next year.
