Tonight, the Idaho’s Citizen Commission for Reapportionment gets started on its public hearings around the state. The first is at Rexburg (evidently not streamed, though we're told that plans are for at least some of the others - maybe half of them - to be streamed).
The others will be at Idaho Falls (June 15), Pocatello (June 15). Soda Springs (June 16), Coeur d'Alene (June 22), Sandpoint (June 22), Lewiston (June 23), Moscow (June 23), Burley (June 28), Twin Falls (June 29) and Hailey/Ketchum (June 30). Two in Boise and Caldwell already have been held. The commission's schedule for July evidently hasn't been worked out or set yet, and may not be until the hearings are done.
There's always some virtue to hearing from the public, and this mass of meetings should provide more than if the commissioners just stayed in Boise.
At the same time, we'll be curious to know what the turnout is. Oregon completed its redistricting hearings not so long ago, and turnout ranged from moderate to low. Only a handful of spots led to actual large audiences, over 100 of, say, actual local participants and witnesses. Most of the smaller cities drew far fewer - mainly county commissioners and mayors saying their official piece.
What they have to say in Idaho will be worth watching.
