The Greensboro Citizens’ Redistricting Committee held its second meeting on Thursday, Sept. 23 and selected three maps of redrawn City Council districts to present to the public.
At the next meeting of the redistricting committee, Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m., the public will be invited to virtually comment on the three maps selected by the committee and can present their own maps for the committee’s consideration.
The committee first had to reach agreement on how many maps to present to the public and decided on three: A “Least Change” map, where the least number of precincts were moved to meet the legal population requirements. A map that moves enough precincts to meet most of the goals of the redistricting committee and moves more precincts. And finally a map that, rather using the current map as a starting point, goes back to the 2001 map where all five districts were piece-of-pie shaped with the points being near downtown Greensboro. That map was named “Pie Shaped Draft Map.”
The committee started out by doing something it was told by the consultant from the law firm Parker Poe, Mac McCarley to do only if there were no other options and “as a last resort,” which is split a precinct.
The committee took the map prepared by the consultants, “LC-2,” that moved two precincts, and decided that instead of moving two precincts they would move one precinct and split precinct G26 between District 2 and District 3. So the “Least Change Map” being presented went from LC-2 to LC-1.5.
McCarley said the “Least Change” map were presented to demonstrate how few precincts actually had to be moved to create a new map that met the legal requirements.
There was some confusion on the committee about what moving a precinct meant. McCarley explained that no precincts were actually being moved and the polling places in the precincts that were “moved” would not change. He said the only thing that would change would be the candidates on the ballot and agreed that redrawing the City Council district maps would create a lot of confusion for some voters.
The committee spent a lot of time trying to revise the moderate change map, C-5, but in the end gave up and decided to present it as it was drawn.
All the maps and more information about redistricting can be found at: https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/government/2022-redistricting-info.
Final map choices already? It’s almost as if they’ve had them ready for months, just waiting to trot them out.
I’m sure that YOU are right, they “know” what they want and how to get it. Make IT look and sound real!!!!!