Arizona amendment would ask voters for more state representative, senators

PHOENIX — A new proposed amendment to the state’s constitution would increase the number of politicians at the Arizona State Capitol by adding representatives based on the number of people in the state.

The amendment would call on the independent redistricting commission to look at the state’s population each year in April and divide the population by 220,000 people.

It would then round that quotient to the nearest whole number to determine the number of legislative districts and, in turn, the number of representatives.

According to the most recent U.S. Census data, there are just over seven million people in the state with 30 legislative districts, 30 state senators and 60 state representatives to act on behalf of those people.

If the resolution were to pass, those numbers would change to 32 legislative districts, 32 state senators and 64 state representatives, with more being added as the population increases.

The proposed amendment was first introduced in late January.

If the amendment gets passed, it would be put on the statewide ballot for voter approval.

If it receives a simple majority, it would become part of the state constitution.

Editor’s note: The first version of this story said the amendment had passed the state Senate and was awaiting a state House vote. That was incorrect.

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