When state government last year failed to approve redistricting reform, it was thought the opportunity was lost for a decade, given that part of the package required a Constitutional amendment to be in place for redistricting based on the 2020 census — and there wouldn’t be time, given that the amendment needed to pass two successive sessions of the General Assembly.

Reformers, however, have realized since then that the hoped-for changes can still occur, as there is a delay in the reporting of census numbers.

Thus, reformers have proposed a pair of bills in the House, one to create an Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw Congressional district lines and one that would amend the Constitution so the same commission could redraw the line for General Assembly districts.

The first bill would need to become law in the current session, in the typical way, but the second would need to be passed both in the current session, 2019-20, and the next, 2021-22.

The key for getting reform done in time will be to pass that second bill in January 2021, at the beginning of the second session, said Steve Elfelt, who has been the local reform leader.

Then the amendment could go before voters in the 2021 primary, after which the already-created commission could set both the Congressional and state districts, based on what at that time would be the fresh census numbers, according to Elfelt, who appeared before City Council recently with Don Clippinger, his replacement in the reform leadership post.

Together, they asked for council’s continued support of the cause.

Council didn’t answer directly, but after the meeting, Mayor Matt Pacifico said he didn’t think the city would withdraw the support it expressed last year in a resolution.

That resolution still holds, given its lack of an expiration date, Elfelt said.

Based on the reformers’ proposals, the commission would comprise 11 voters selected at random, but with four members from each major party, three others not registered with either party — and no elected officials or lobbyists. The composition of the group would need to reflect the racial, geographic and gender composition of the state.

The reformers want to eliminate gerrymandering — the creation of districts where the tendencies of voters virtually guarantees a desired outcome — generally the re-election of incumbents.

“(W)hen the districts are designed to give one party or candidate an unassailable advantage, then something has to happen,” Clippinger wrote in an email explaining the proposals and why he joined the movement. “The game is rigged.”

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.