COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County will join a lawsuit challenging the new legislative redistricting plan, the commissioners announced on Tuesday.

Concerned some voters could be disenfranchised by the new districts, the commissioners have asked the county prosecutor to add the county to Twin Falls County's suit against the Idaho Redistricting Commission and the Idaho Secretary of State.

"Our goal is to keep our county whole, as dictated by the state constitution, and ensure appropriate representation for our citizens," stated a press release issued by the commissioners.

Twin Falls County plans to file the suit today over its concerns with gratuitous district splitting in the plan recently approved by the Redistricting Commission.

Several other entities have also joined the lawsuit, to be filed at the state Supreme Court, including the city of Buhl, Teton County and Owyhee County, Commissioner Jai Nelson said.

"We've spoken with other North Idaho counties that may also participate," she said.

The Kootenai commissioners contend that the new Legislative Plan L 87 violates the constitutional mandate that the division of counties be avoided whenever possible.

The county was previously kept whole with three legislative districts contained in the county, Nelson pointed out.

But under the new plan, the county is divided into four, she noted, with a southeastern chunk of the county combined into the broad district 7, which also includes Clearwater, Idaho and Shoshone counties.

"It's a mammoth district," Nelson said, adding that voters might have difficulty contacting their legislative representatives. "Because we're the largest county in North Idaho, I want to ensure our citizens are well represented on state topics."

More than 5,000 county residents are in district 7.

The commissioners are asking the state to set the current plan aside, Nelson said.

Their move on the lawsuit follows a meeting with the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee last month, in which the group encouraged legal action on the matter.

"I'd like to thank them (the commissioners) very much," said Tina Jacobson with KCRCC. "It's ridiculous to stick that 5,000 plus people in that ugly legislative district 7. There's no way a legislator can be with his constituents on that long of a map."

Barry McHugh, county prosecutor, said he is confident the constitution supports the plaintiffs' argument.

"I anticipate the Supreme Court will deal with it in fairly swift fashion, since it may affect elections coming up fairly quickly in 2012," McHugh said.

Grant Loebs, Twin Falls County prosecutor, said he has included with the lawsuit a proposed alternative plan.

In it, Kootenai County remains whole with three districts, he said, and only six districts in the state are divided into other counties.

"The current redistricting plan splits 11 counties, a total of 14 splits," Loebs said. "Only six of those are necessary."

The plan is only intended to show that minimum splits are possible, he added, and he doesn't expect his version to be the final map.

Tim Hurst, chief deputy at the Secretary of State's Office, said the counties are welcome to file a suit.

He's not surprised, he said, given that every plan submitted over the last 20 years has been challenged in court.

"I don't have any concerns," Hurst said of the new reapportionment plan. "I think the commission that did it, I think they did a good job, an admirable job."

He reminded that the new plan, intended to accommodate new census numbers, had to include some awkward districts to meet population requirements for each district.

"When you have a state the shape of Idaho and the population spread the way it is in Idaho, you're going to have some districts that are very large, just to get the population base," Hurst said.