An initial plan to split Story County into state-mandated supervisor voting districts has been rejected, underscoring a need for more “compact districts.”
The Iowa Legislature passed a bill in April requiring Iowa counties that house public universities to begin electing supervisors by district rather than an at-large system.
The legislation, Senate File 75, applies to Story, Johnson, and Black Hawk counties, which are home to Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa. Voters in these three counties can now only vote for the supervisor who lives in their district.
Story County elects three county supervisors.
On Jan. 6, the Story County Board of Supervisors rejected a map split into three districts that was submitted at the end of 2025. The board requested a second map from the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) that has “more compact districts,” according to county documents.
The board will consider a second map with three new districts from LSA on Jan. 27.
Iowa’s other 96 counties have the option of electing their supervisors by district at large, where all county residents vote for every supervisor seat; or at large, where supervisors are still required to live in different districts.
What does the second Story County district map look like?
Story County has a population of 98,937. The newest map includes a population of 32,793-32,940 in each voting district.
Ames is large enough that portions of the city are included in all three supervisor districts, while other communities are contained in a single district.
The second map will include the following districts:
The second proposal differs from the first, which had more Story County communities in the second voting district rather than the first.
The supervisors were concerned that the districts weren’t compact enough and thought it was likely to result in “multiple splits in precincts due to preponderance of annexation along proposed district borders.”
The board felt it might lead to voter confusion and “burden the election administration.”
What did the initial Story County district map look like?
The first map also split Ames into three voting districts.
A full overview of the initial proposal is available in LSA’s first report.
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Story County rejects redistrict plan, seeks ‘more compact’ districts
Reporting by Celia Brocker, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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