The Department of Justice has approved Arizona’s new Congressional district maps which had come under heavy fire from Republicans.
The Independent Redistricting Commission received a letter from the Department of Justice Monday afternoon stating the the Attorney General has no objections to the maps.
The state will have one additional district in the new maps, which will be used in elections later this year. There will now be nine districts rather than eight. Pima County now has portions of three of those districts, compared to two before.
Arizona’s state legislative maps still have not been approved. The Commission is expecting to hear back from the Department of Justice on those maps by April 30, said Kristina Gomez, deputy executive director of the Commission.
The Justice approval comes nearly three months after the Independent Redistricting Commission gave final approval on Jan. 17 to maps that will stand for the next 10 years.
The creation of the maps was laced with controversy with Republicans contending that the panel was rigged to favor Democrats.
See Tuesday’s Arizona Daily Star for more on this story.
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