WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- With the census completed, mapmakers for the congressional redistricting process will train at a National Redistricting Seminar in Washington, officials said.
Most of those in attendance at the seminar held by the National Conference of State Legislatures Friday through Monday will be state legislators and their staff, Washington's Roll Call reported Tuesday.
Some congressional staff also will attend to get a handle on the redistricting process to help national lawmakers get the most advantageous district they can, Roll Call reported.
"There is a misconception at the congressional level and the state level that redistricting is done in Washington, D.C. It's done in the states, in most cases by the legislatures," said Bill Burke of Foundation for the Future, a redistricting organization that assists map-drawing coordination for the Democrats.
Seminar sessions will address legal and technical aspects of the redistricting process, Roll Call said.
General sessions will have Democrats and Republicans learning together from law professors, partisan operatives and Census Bureau officials, said Roll Call.
But for issues that fall around party lines, both parties Friday will first have a breakout session closed to the opposite party, the press and the public, Roll Call reported.
The seminar is the final phase during which hypothetical maps and strategies move to parties drawing new maps in each state, Roll Call reported.
