“There weren’t any huge changes in the new maps,” said Washington County Administrator Dustin Peebles when discussing the proposed district maps for the County with County Commissioners and the Board of Education.
The United States Census for 2020 indicated a decrease in population for Washington County, going from a population of 21,187 in the 2010 U.S. Census to 19,988 in the most recent census. This is a population decrease of 1,199.
County Administrator Peebles explained to both the Washington County Commissioners and the Washington County Board of Education that because of the change in population, the State contacted the County about the redistricting process.
According to the Georgia General Assembly’s Office of Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment, there are many factors to consider in this redistricting process, such as population equality, and all changes to districts must comply with federal and state law, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
County Administrator Peebles discussed the maps with Commissioners and the Board of Education; he explained that the biggest change occurred in District One, which had approximately 300-400 too many; those populations were divided among the other three districts.
“The State Reapportionment Office also wants you in a certain deviation range, which is less than one percent,” said County Administrator Peebles. “And we are in the range within all districts.”
After reviewing the maps, the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education voted during separate meetings to submit the proposed redistricting plan to its local legislative delegation to the Georgia General Assembly so that the redistricting plan can ultimately be approved by the General Assembly at its 2022 regular session and then signed by the Governor.
If approved in time, these district maps will be used for the upcoming General Primary Election for the Washington County Commissioners and the Washington County Board of Education scheduled for May 24 of this year.
