After a break over the holiday weekend, the Georgia House and Senate Reapportionment Committees are back on the road.
The latest town hall hearing was held July 6 in Athens. It was the fifth of 11 scheduled meetings.
A total of 37 people spoke; 14 men, 13 women. Seven persons of color spoke and the remainder were Caucasian. They ranged in age from a rising high school senior to retirees.
MORE: Town Hall Hearings on Georgia Redistricting are Resuming
The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center were both represented along with representatives of the Asian American Advocacy Fund.
A group of six speakers identified themselves as members of Indivisible Georgia District 10.
Its website (https://www.indivisiblega10.com/) says it was started following the 2016 election. The areas of focus include redistricting, gerrymandering and voter education and registration.
A majority spoke about the need to reunite municipalities that have been divided, with no way to elect representatives who share residents’ common interests.
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Augusta’s turn in the redistricting spotlight is July 7 at Savannah Rapids Pavilion.
All the town hall meetings are from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The committees are asking for citizen input on the once every 10 years redistricting process
Members of the public may choose to speak in person and can sign up starting at 4:30 p.m. outside the meeting location. Speakers are asked to keep their comments to between two and five minutes.
Citizens can also submit written comments here: https://www.legis.ga.gov/news/house/submit-written-testimony-to-house-and-senate-redistricting-committees
MORE: Georgia Redistricting Town Hall Meetings Continue
All the hearings will be livestreamed at: https://www.legis.ga.gov/ and videos of each hearing will be available there, as well.
Additional hearings are planned for Brunswick on July 26 at the College of Coastal Georgia, in Albany on July 27 at Albany State University, at Columbus State University in Columbus on July 28 and in Macon on July 29 in the Mercer School of Medicine.
The final hearing will be virtual participation only. It is scheduled for July 30.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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