Reprecincting Efforts Occurred After Districts Were Drawn
Secretary of State William Galvin’s office has newly produced detailed descriptions of the new House and Senate district that are in place for the 2022 elections.
The descriptions were assembled following a redistricting year in which reprecincting efforts took place after the Legislature redrew district boundaries. Usually, new precincts are drawn up and then serve as the building blocks for new districts, but the order was reversed due to delayed population updates from the 2020 Census.
The late-arriving district information comes as incumbents and challengers have already begun collecting signatures from registered voters that they’ll need to file in order to qualify for the Sept. 6 primary ballot.
In late October, the Senate approved a map of reshaped districts that doubled the number of districts where a majority of residents are non-white — from three to six, out of 40 — and reduced the number of muncipalities split between multiple districts.
The new House map increased the number of districts where minorities make up the majority of the population from 20 to 33, including two new districts in Worcester and new incumbent-free districts in Lawrence, Chelsea, Framingham and Brockton.
The new Congressional district map was finalized in November and kept Fall River and New Bedford separated between the 4th and 9th districts despite pressure from some regional leaders like U.S. Rep. William Keating to unite the similar South Coast cities in one district.
The new district maps will remain in place until the 2032 elections, which will follow the 2030 Census effort that will deliver the population data needed for redistricting efforts to take place in 2031.
District Descriptions:
– House Districts
– Senate Districts
– Congressional Districts
– Governor’s Council Districts
