The first look at possible new district lines in Richmond County has been released by the Board of Elections Office. The release comes one day before the Richmond County Ad Hoc Redistricting Committee holds its next meeting.
Elections Director Lynn Bailey says the draft was prepared by the State of Georgia Legislative Redistricting Office, realigning the Augusta Commission and Board of Education districts lines based on the 2020 Census data.
The drafted map is seen above. The current map is found below.
It’s one of several items on the agenda. The committee will also discuss hiring a redistricting consultant and talk about the county’s redistricting website.
The meeting is scheduled for Wed., Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. It will be held in the Augusta Commission Chambers. The public is invited and the meeting will be livestreamed here.
On Sept. 27, Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and state Sen. John F. Kennedy, chairman of the Senate Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee, released a map showing tentative new Congressional districts.
The map does not include state House or Senate districts or possible lines for local municipalities or school boards.
MORE: Tentative Georgia Congressional Districts Map Revealed
As drawn, this draft includes major changes for east-central Georgia’s District 10 and District 12 seats, currently held by Congressman Jody Hice and Congressman Rick Allen respectively.
Currently, District 12 covers Richmond County and all or parts of 18 other counties. The draft map changes that to all or parts of 23 counties. Among the biggest changes is the draft map puts all of Columbia County, a Republican-majority county, in District 12. It is currently divided between the 12th and 10th districts.
The draft also adds McDuffie, Warren, Glascock, Washington, Jefferson, Johnson, Wilkinson and part of Baldwin Counties. It eliminates Coffee, Jeff Davis, Appling and Wheeler Counties. That means all but four of the CSRA counties — Lincoln, Wilkes, Hancock and Taliaferro Counties — are in the same district. Those four counties are part of the 10th district.
District 10 moves slightly northward, picking up all or parts of Jackson, Elbert, Madison and Gwinnett Counties.
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Gov. Brian Kemp set Nov. 3 for a special session of the Georgia Legislature to finalize Congressional districts as well as those for the state House and Senate.
Meanwhile, some local election officials are asking state legislators to delay the 2022 qualifying period and primary election by more than a month because of the delayed 2020 census numbers and final redistricting maps.
A resolution passed on Aug. 30 by members of the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Elections Officials at their annual conference said, “These delays will give the counties inadequate time to make complicated redistricting changes before the commencement of candidate qualifying on March 7, 2022; and that after the 2010 Census, the qualifying period in 2012 commenced on May 23, 2012, providing more than two additional months for redistricting efforts.”
MORE: Kemp Calls Early November Special Legislative Session for Redistricting
The local election workers request the qualifying period begin on April 11, 2022. It is currently set to open March 7, 2022. They ask the primary election date be moved from May 24, 2022, to June 28 with any needed runoff elections scheduled for July 26.
The resolution read, “This change would provide additional time for redistricting in 2022 and allow for both the general primary and runoff to be conducted when schools are not in session for 2022 and future years.”
Among those who signed the resolution was Travis Doss, assistant director of the Richmond County Board of Elections who is secretary of GAVREO. Columbia County Elections Director Nancy Gay said she is unaware of anyone in her office signing the document.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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