MTGOP Responds to Montana Districting and Apportionment Meeting
HELENA, Mont.-The Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission met earlier today with each commissioner unveiling their proposed maps of Montana’s new legislative districts. The stated purpose of the meeting was to unveil each commissioner’s proposed map, yet Democrat members of the commission secretly received access to Republican commission members’ maps ahead of Tuesday’s meeting. The Democrat commissioners used this unfair advantage to prepare a series of unfounded partisan attacks which they deployed this afternoon. In addition, Democrat commissioners both put forward heavily gerrymandered maps with proposals designed to unduly favor the Democrat party beyond what logically drawn districts would provide.Montana Republican Party Chairman Don “K” Kaltschmidt issued the following statement in response to the Democrats desperate efforts:“Today, Democrat members of the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission tried to claim moral high ground, but in fact their hands were dirty. The purpose of today’s meeting was to introduce each proposal put forward. It is incredibly disappointing Democrat members of the Commission used their positions to unfairly obtain access to Republican maps prior to the public meeting. They’ve also once again carved up our state in a desperate attempt for political gain. Montanans expect their legislative districts to be drawn in a manner that does not favor one political party over another, and unfortunately Democrats are playing the same games they did during the Congressional districting process,” Kaltschmidt said.“Public comment is an important part of the redistricting process and in order for the process to be transparent, Montanans need to be heard. I encourage all Montanans to participate over the next several months and closely review what is included in the maps to ensure common sense legislative districts are adopted and to prevent Democrats from dividing up our state to benefit their liberal agenda.”The commission will be holding both in-person and virtual public hearings by region giving Montanans an opportunity to provide feedback on proposed maps. To ensure a fair map of our legislative districts is adopted for Montana, we encourage you to participate.
