Idaho’s largest cities are using more permanent city council district maps for the first time this election season.
Republican lawmakers required cities with over 100,000 people to divvy up city council representation by districts back in 2020, including Senate Pro Tem Chuck Winder (R-Boise).
He said his neighbors in West Boise felt increasingly forgotten, since city council members at the time almost exclusively lived in the same high income neighborhoods near the city center.
“We have portions of the city that are miles and miles and miles from the downtown area and those people don’t feel like they’re being represented,” Winder said at the time.
The City of Boise pushed back against the move, asking for more time to come up with its own solution to increase geographical representation among council members.
“And yet nothing has been done – neither current or previous city councils,” said Winder. “It’s time to do something to acknowledge the growth of our major communities in Idaho."
Currently, Boise, Meridian and Nampa have to follow the law.
These cities adopted their latest district maps last year, which will remain in place until the 2030 census.
You can find interactive maps for each of these three cities here, which will help you locate your district.
Races within some districts are uncontested and therefore won't appear on your ballot. You can find a sample of races you'll get to cast a vote in based on where you live here.
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