OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma House of Representatives will hold a public comment session this week to hear from Oklahomans that submitted a statewide redistricting plan for House districts.

The House received seven map submissions from the public and will host a meeting to hear from interested parties at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 15, in room 206 in the state Capitol.

The meeting can be livestreamed here: https://okhouse.gov/Video/Default.aspx.

“We want Oklahomans to be involved in every step of the redistricting process,” said Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, the chair of the House Redistricting Committee. “This process will determine legislative and congressional districts and ultimately who represents them at the state and the U.S. Capitol. They need to have a say in the process and be able to ask questions and give input.”

Every 10 years, the Legislature is constitutionally required to redraw Oklahoma’s legislative and congressional district boundaries to reflect population changes following the decennial census.

The House Redistricting Committee in February adopted redistricting rules and guidelines as well as set the parameters for public map submissions. Map submissions were limited to Oklahoma residents only.

Redistricting plans for state legislative districts must be completed by May 28, 2021, the constitutionally mandated conclusion of the first regular legislative session following the end of the census. Congressional redistricting has no deadline, but the Legislature plans to reconvene in a special session to complete its work in time for the 2022 elections. The special session is necessary because Census data is delayed this year until Sept. 30.

Additional information about the redistricting process can be found here: https://okhouse.gov/Publications/Redistricting.aspx.