The Georgia House and Senate Reapportionment Committees have wrapped up the first set of town hall meetings on the upcoming redistricting.
The fourth of the 11 scheduled sessions was held on June 30 in Dalton, Ga.
Fewer citizens signed up to offer comments than in the three previous meetings.
MORE: Reapportionment Committees Hit the Road for State Redistricting
Twenty-seven people spoke Wednesday night; 14 women and 13 men. The ethnic breakdown was 15 Caucasian and 12 people of color, including a 20-year-old Hispanic male who just gained his U.S. citizenship and a woman who delivered her comments in English and Spanish to point out the lack of translators for non-English speakers and those who are hearing-impaired.
Groups represented ranged from national organizations like the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center to grassroots organizations including “We the People of Pickens County.”
The hearings are pausing through the holiday weekend. They will resume Tuesday, July 6 in Athens at Athens Technical College. That will be followed by the meeting in Augusta on July 7 at Savannah Rapids Pavilion in Martinez.
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All the town hall meetings will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The committees are asking for citizen input on the once every ten 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: Listening to What Georgians Want for Redistricting
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, Albany on July 27, Columbus on July 28 and Macon on July 29. Locations for those have not yet been released.
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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