DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announces his approval of the Supervisor District Plan submitted to his office by the Linn County Board of Supervisors. The plan redraws supervisor districts in the county, following an affirmative vote by Linn County voters to reduce the number of supervisor districts from five down to three. The new plan is effective beginning with the 2018 election cycle.

The Legislative Services Agency (LSA) affirms that the plan submitted to Secretary Pate appears to meet the requirements of the Iowa Code.

"The redistricting plan has been carefully reviewed by a non-partisan, professional legislative team and I am proud of the transparency of this process," Secretary Pate said. "The majority of the Linn County Board of Supervisors and a temporary redistricting committee expressed support for this plan, and since it appears to meet the requirements of Iowa Code, I am officially approving it."

The plan approved by Secretary Pate divides Cedar Rapids into separate supervisor districts, with the southern half of the city making up District One. The northern half of Cedar Rapids is grouped with Hiawatha, Robins, and Monroe Township for District 2. The remainder of Linn County, including Marion, Mount Vernon and other rural areas and townships encompass District 3.

Linn County’s current population is 211,226 citizens. According to LSA, the ideal supervisor district population is 70,409. The maximum allowable deviation from the ideal population is one percent, equating to 704 citizens. All three districts are well within the allowable deviation.

The terms of all five current Linn County supervisors will end on December 31, 2018. Two of the new district supervisors will be elected to four-year terms, and one will be elected to a two-year term. A drawing to be held at a later date will dictate the length of terms for each supervisor.

###