By the end of this week, local legislators may know where Minnesota’s political parties stand on redistricting.

State Democrats and Republicans must show what they want the state’s congressional districts to look like.

“I’ll be curious to see what the Democrats have,” Rep. Rich Murray, R-Albert Lea said.

They have until Friday to present a special court panel with their ideal maps. The court is overseeing the politically charged process because there hasn’t been consensus within state government.

A legislative committee deadlocked last year over the map after Democrats cried foul over a Republican map they say protected Republican interests, while Republicans charged Democrats with playing games over the redistricting process.

Rep. Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin, said she hopes both sides can come to an agreement after this week so the courts won’t have to be involved.

“There’s a slim chance that we could do that if we put away the partisan, political side of things,” Poppe said.

Murray doesn’t anticipate the two political parties playing nicely, but he is confident in the judicial redistricting process.

“Ultimately, the courts make that decision,” he said.

Redistricting happens once a decade as a way to account for population shifts. The goal is to come up with eight congressional districts with roughly the same number of people and 201 like-sized legislative districts.

Until now, Democrats haven’t publicly put on paper their preferred outcome.

Republicans offered maps during the 2010 legislative session. They were vetoed by Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton.

The court expects to issue its mapmaking decision by Feb. 21 of next year.

—The Associated Press contributed to this report.