Arizona Republicans plot to redraw maps after Supreme Court ruling on use of race in redistricting

PHOENIX – Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen said Thursday that as soon as the U.S. Supreme Court ruling limiting the use of race in redistricting came down, Republicans started looking for ways to change the state’s maps.

“The second we saw the ruling, we started putting it in the works,” Petersen said on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Thursday. “We’re putting together a strategy, the litigation, and right now we’re looking at when and how and so stay tuned.”

How Arizona’s district maps are currently drawn

Arizona’s current redistricting system places map-drawing authority in the hands of the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission.

Petersen called for new maps to consider communities of interest, county lines and city lines, but leave out race considerations to conform with the Supreme Court’s ruling this week on Louisiana’s map.

“Part of districting has been based off of race,” Petersen said of Arizona’s maps. “That by definition is racist, right? So you shouldn’t be determining anything by race.”

Great decision this morning from the U.S. Supreme Court on redistricting. Very likely we bring a claim to eliminate our unconstitutionally gerrymandered districts here in AZ. https://t.co/B8dAlTnhum

— Warren Petersen (@votewarren) April 29, 2026

Arizona voters created the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission in 2000, when they approved a ballot measure that took congressional and district map-drawing power away from the Legislature and gave it to a five-member citizen commission.

The change first took effect after the 2000 U.S. census and has governed Arizona redistricting ever since. States redraw congressional and legislative districts every 10 years after the census.

Petersen also signaled that he wanted to see that power returned to lawmakers.

“Our founders set it up so the Legislature does it,” Petersen said, speaking of the district map drawing process. “I’m always one who I believe in the wisdom of the founders.”

Petersen’s comments signal that Arizona is just one of a growing list of states considering redoing their district maps in response to the Supreme Court ruling.

What did the Supreme Court ruling change?

The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a major part of the Voting Rights Act that had long been used to protected minority representation.

The court found a Louisiana congressional district to be an unconstitutional “gerrymander” because race was used in drawing it.

The ruling could affect redistricting disputes nationwide, from Congress to state legislatures and local governments.

Arizona Democrats respond to Petersen’s comments

In response to Petersen’s comments, the Senate Democrat leader Priya Sundareshan issued a statement:

“Let’s be clear: Arizona voters created the Independent Redistricting Commission specifically to prevent partisan politicians from manipulating district lines for their own benefit,” Sundareshan said. “That commission, made up of two Democrats, two Republicans, and an independent chair, approved the current congressional and legislative maps in 2022, after working for nearly a year to set the boundaries. Changing maps in the middle of an election cycle and mere months before the primary election is not only impractical, but it also risks chaos, confusion, and undermines voter confidence.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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