Article 2 § 19. Redistricting criteria.

(a) In addition to the requirements of section 16, the following standards shall apply, in descending order of priority, and the commission shall provide a written explanation of any deviation from these standards:

(1) Districts shall comply with the United States Constitution and comply with 52 U.S.C. Ch. 103 (relating to enforcement of voting rights) and other Federal laws.

(2) Districts shall provide racial minorities an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and may not dilute or diminish their ability to elect candidates of choice whether alone or in coalition with others.

(3) A redistricting plan may not provide an advantage to any political party. An advantage to a political party shall be determined by using accepted measures of partisan fairness.

(4) A redistricting plan may not be drawn favoring or disfavoring any incumbent elected official, candidate or prospective candidate for elective office.

(5) Districts shall respect communities of interest to the extent practicable and after compliance with the requirements of paragraphs (1), (2), (3) and (4).

(6) The boundaries of each district shall be contiguous. A county or municipal fragment or enclave containing less than 50 persons shall be considered contiguous to the district if the remainder of the county or municipality is wholly within the same district.

(7) To the extent practicable, senatorial and representative districts shall be drawn with the fewest number of divisions to counties and municipalities within a population deviation of 2.5% above or below the ideal population. A county may not contain more senatorial districts than the number required by the population plus one. A county may not contain more representative districts than the number required by the population plus two. A precinct may not be split in the drawing of district lines.

(8) To the extent practicable, congressional districts shall be drawn with the fewest number of divisions to counties and municipalities within a population deviation of .25% above or below the ideal population. A county may not contain more congressional districts than the number required by the population plus one. A precinct may not be split in the drawing of district lines.

(9) To the extent possible without violating the preceding criteria, districts shall be compact in form as determined through standard compactness measures and district boundaries shall conform to natural boundaries existing in the physical geography of an area.