Montana State Legislature
2020 Districting and Apportionment Commission
(Commissioners left to right: Dan Stusek, Jeff Essmann, Sheila Stearns (former presiding officer), Kendra Miller, Joe Lamson)
The Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission is an independent five-member commission authorized by the Montana Constitution to draw the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts every 10 years using population data from the most recent U.S. Census.
Next Scheduled Meeting
July 8-9, 2021 -- Times TBD
State Capitol Room 137
Would you like to receive emails with the latest information about upcoming meetings?
Upcoming Meeting Dates:
August 17
Additional Fall Dates TBD
May 3, 2019
Meeting materials
- Agenda
- Minutes Log
- Audio/ Video Minute Files
Other materials
May 13, 2019
- Agenda
- Minutes Log
- Audio/ Video Minute Files
Meeting materials
Other materials
- Press Release - May 10, 2019
- Press Release - May 3, 2019
August 1, 2019
- Agenda
- Minutes Log
- Audio/ Video Minute Files
Other Meeting Materials
- Presentation slides: Recap of Providence Redistricting Seminar
- Memo: Application of Open Meeting and Public Document Laws -- Commission staff
- The Redistricting Glossary -- NCSL
- Census 2020 Talking Points -- Montana Department of Commerce
November 1, 2019
- Agenda
- Minutes Log
- Audio / Video Recordings
Other Meeting Materials
- Presentation slides: Census update and Montana outreach
- Q/A document -- Census and Economic Information Center, Montana Department of Commerce
- Website for Montana's Complete Count Committee
- 2010 Census Coverage Measurement Person Results for Montana (pdf)
- 2010 Census Coverage Measurement Housing Unit Results for Montana (pdf)
- Draft 2020 Commission Operating Procedures (pdf)
- Draft 2020 timeline based on 2010 commission schedule (pdf)
February 19, 2020
- Agenda
- Minutes Log
- Audio/ Video Minute Files
June 10, 2020
- Agenda
- Minutes Log
- Audio/Video Minute Files
August 4, 2020
- Agenda
- Minutes Log
- Video Minute Files
August 20, 2020 -- Panel with League of Women Voters Montana
The Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission is an independent five-member commission authorized by the Montana Constitution to draw the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts every 10 years using population data from the most recent U.S. Census.
Commissioners may not be public officials. Four commissioners are appointed by legislative leadership and have 20 days after appointment to select the fifth member, who will be the commission's presiding officer. Should the first four commissioners fail to agree on a fifth, the Montana Supreme Court selects the fifth member.
2020 Commissioners
Maylinn Smith, Presiding Officer, appointed by the Montana Supreme Court
Missoula, MT
Maylinn.Smith@mtleg.gov
Jeff Essmann, appointed by Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas
Billings, MT
Jeff.Essmann@mtleg.gov
Joe Lamson, appointed by Senate Minority Leader Jon Sesso
Helena, MT
Joe.Lamson@mtleg.gov
Dan Stusek, appointed by House Majority Leader Brad Tschida
Helena, MT
Dan.Stusek@mtleg.gov
Kendra Miller, appointed by House Minority Leader Casey Schreiner
Bozeman, MT
Kendra.Miller@mtleg.gov
Current State Legislative District Boundaries
Prior Congressional District Boundaries
Administrative Documents
- Commission Operating Procedures --adopted November 2019, last amended June 2021
Background Resources
- The Redistricting Glossary -- NCSL
- Table: History of State Legislative Redistricting Criteria in Montana - Legislative Services
- Table: History of Congressional Redistricting Criteria in Montana -- Legislative Services
Census Information
- Website for Montana's Complete Count Committee -- Montana Department of Commerce
- November 2019 presentation slides -- Montana Department of Commerce
- Question/Answer document, November 2019 -- Montana Department of Commerce
- Letter to Census Bureau from the National Conference of State Legislatures -- May 2020
- Letter to U.S. Congress from the National Conference of State Legislatures -- May 2020
-
Census Self-Response Rates, June 8, 2020 -- Montana Department of Commerce (Excel file)
- Description of 2020 Census Self-Response Rate, June 8, 2020
- June 2020 presentation slides -- Mary Craigle, Montana Department of Commerce
- August 2020 presentation slides -- Mary Craigle, Montana Department of Commerce
- Letters to congressional delegation:
Legal Documents
- Memo: Application of Open Meeting and Public Document Laws, July 2019 -- Commission staff
-
Memo: Litigation Background and Districting and Apportionment Criteria, June 2020 (REV) -- Commission staff
- Presentation slides, June 2020
How To Submit Written Comments document
Written public comments that were distributed by a speaker during a commission meeting are included as exhibits for that meeting. Please see the meeting summary minutes to access the exhibits.
2021 Comments
- Public comments, June 9, 2021
- Public comments, June 7, 2021 (large file, ~5MB)
- Public comments, May 24, 2021
- Public comments, May 20, 2021
2020 Comments
- Public comments, August 22, 2020
- Public comments, August 4, 2020
- Public comments, June 10, 2020
2019 Comments
- Public comments, November 1, 2019
2020 Commissioners
- Maylinn Smith, Presiding Officer, appointed by the Montana Supreme Court
- Jeff Essmann, appointed by Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas
- Joe Lamson, appointed by Senator Minority Leader Jon Sesso
- Dan Stusek, appointed by House Majority Leader Brad Tschida
- Kendra Miller, appointed by House Minority Leader Casey Schreiner
Staff
- Rachel Weiss, Research Analyst
- Joe Kolman, Research Analyst
- Ginger Aldrich, Staff Attorney
- Laura Sherley, Secretary
