State lawmakers will take an extended break following this year's legislative session. When they return in the fall, they'll begin the process of re-drawing the lines of the state's four U.S. Congressional districts.
Redistricting happens every 10 years, following the U.S. Census. State lawmakers re-draw lines for U.S. House districts, while the state Board of Apportionment, made up of the governor, attorney general and secretary of state, re-draws state House and Senate districts.
Shelby Johnson, the state's Geographic Information Officer and director of the Arkansas Geographic Information Office, authored a study looking at the past 80 years of redistricting in Arkansas, beginning in 1940.
Johnson spoke with KUAR's Daniel Breen about the evolution of the state's district lines over the years, and what history can tell us about what to expect with this year's redistricting efforts.
