CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) - For the fifth decade in a row, a federal judge will decide on how to draw County Council lines in St. Louis County after Republicans and Democrats on the redistricting commission failed to reach agreement.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the last time the 14-member Bipartisan Reapportionment Commission successfully drew County Council lines was in 1971. Federal judges have drawn County Council lines each decade since 1981.
Agreement would have required at least nine votes of approval for a map, meaning at least two Republicans or two Democrats would have had to vote with the other party's representatives.
Redistricting is required every 10 years to try to ensure the seven County Council districts are as equal in population as possible.