Vermont Senate districts, 2002–2012

Vermont's state Senate consists of 30 members elected from 13 single or multi-member districts provided for in the redistricting and reapportionment plan developed by the Vermont General Assembly following the 2000 U.S. Census. The plan applies to legislatures elected in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. A new plan will be developed in 2012 following the 2010 U.S. Census.

As of the 2000 census, the state as a whole had a population of 608,827. As there are a total of 30 Senators, there were 20,294 residents per senator.

Members per district

Senators in multi-member districts are elected at-large throughout the district. Districts range from one to six senators. Three districts elect one senator each, six districts elect two each, three elect three each, and one (Chittenden) elects six.

Criticism and controversy

The differences in the size of the districts has been a source of some controversy. In 2002, during the debate over the current districting plan, some, particularly Republicans in the state House of Representatives argued that different size districts were not truly equal, and proposed instead that the state be divided into fifteen approximately equal sized two member districts. Others, especially Democrats countered that the plan would cause major disruption to the makeup of the Senate, and that its true purpose wasn't equality, and was instead designed, simply, to increase the number of Republicans in the Senate. The plan would have cost a number of senators their seats, which didn't make it popular with that chamber. Senate opposition, together with opposition from Democrats, meant the proposal was not enacted.

With its six members, the Chittenden district was the natural focus of the controversy. As a less drastic proposal, some advocated splitting that district into two three member districts, however this effort was also unsuccessful.

District naming

Senate district lines are drawn with an eye toward adhering to the boundaries of the state's 14 counties, and the districts are named after the county or counties in which the bulk of the district is located. However, due to equal representation requirements of the federal and state constitutions, most districts do not have precisely the same boundaries as their respective counties, containing either one or more towns from neighboring counties or not containing one or more from their own county (or both). Washington and Windsor are the only districts that have the same bounds as their respective counties.

Districts

*Addison, 2 senators.
*Bennington, 2 senators.
*Caledonia, 2 senators.
*Chittenden, 6 senators.
*Essex-Orleans, 2 senators.
*Franklin, 2 senators.
*Grand Isle, 1 senator.
*Lamoille, 1 senators.
*Orange, 1 senators.
*Rutland, 3 senators.
*Washington, 3 senators.
*Windham, 2 senators.
*Windsor, 3 senators.

See also

*Members of the Vermont Senate, 2005-2006 session
*Vermont Representative Districts, 2002-2012

External links

* [http://www.leg.state.vt.us/reports/02Redistricting/Act151_Senate_Map.pdf Map of Vermont Senate districts and statistics (PDF)]
* [http://www.leg.state.vt.us/reports/02Redistricting/Act151.pdf Vermont Act 151 (2002), which created the districts. Note comprehensive act, redistricting section begins on page 67. (PDF)]