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territory. Drawing districts without frequent reference to the location of incumbents seems to <br /> naturally result in a number of incumbent conflicts. Where possible without increasing the <br /> number of split political subdivisions, creating greater population deviations, or disrupting <br /> communities of interest, we have made some minor changes to ensure the plan does not result in <br /> "either undue incumbent protection or excessive incumbent conflicts." See Order Stating <br /> Redistricting Principles, supra, at 5. In this way, the plan strikes, a balance between the <br /> competing interests of the parties. <br /> Similarly, amicus curiae, the Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund (MWCF), and citizens <br /> testifying in the public hearings have asked us to ensure that no plan has an undue impact on <br /> female legislators. The MWCF has specifically asked that we consider: (1) whether the number <br /> and kind of incumbent pairings adversely and disproportionately- affect women; (2) the <br /> percentage of new territory assigned to women incumbents as compared to the percentage <br /> assigned to men; and (3) the extent to which a female incumbent is assigned to a new district in <br /> which the majority of voters belong to an opposing political party. (MWCF Br. at 8-9.) Because <br /> we declined to consider the changes to any incumbent's territory or the electoral composition of <br /> any incumbent's district, we similarly decline to undertake such political analyses for female <br /> incumbents. Given our criteria, however, we did assess the number of incumbent pairings <br /> involving women. Women constitute only 28% of paired senators and 24% of paired <br /> representatives in this plan 4 Twenty percent of all female senators and 24% of all female <br /> representatives are paired. <br /> Based on all these considerations, we conclude that although no plan satisfies every <br /> interest, this plan is balanced and fair while placing a premium on achieving low population <br /> 4 Currently, 37% of Minnesota's senators and 25% of its representatives are women. <br />