Members of the Georgia House and Senate Reapportionment Committees are back on the road, visiting Brunswick on July 26.
The committees are asking for citizen input on the redistricting process that takes place every 10 years.
Representative Bonnie Rich (R-Suwanee) said the Census Bureau expects to release some preliminary data by mid-August, but the final data needed to draw the maps will not be released until September 30.
MORE: Georgia Redistricting Town Hall Meetings Continue
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson told the committee conducting public town halls without census data is merely lip service.
“The committee should commit to conducting public town hall meetings and hearings after the release of census data and draft maps with sufficient time for concrete, quality public input,” said Johnson.
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Hayley Watkins, who identified herself as a local educator and environmentalist, told the committee Georgia’s redistricting process should inspire trust and confidence.
“The lack of laws guiding the redistricting plans and process has allowed representatives to choose their constituents for partisan gain,” she said. “We live in a nation where citizens should choose their representatives, not the other way around.”
In all, 37 people spoke at the Brunswick meeting; 22 woman, 15 men, 21 caucasian and 16 people of color.
There will be three more in-person meetings this week: 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 committees planned to hold 11 of the town hall style meetings around the state. However, the Augusta hearing that was scheduled for July 7 was postponed because of Tropical Storm Elsa. It has not yet been re-scheduled.
Johnson said the 11 scheduled meetings are insufficient.
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“Scheduled town halls released by the committee are not equitable,” said Johnson. ”It excludes seven out of the 10 most populous in the state. Most notable Gwinnett County and secondly, Chatham County.”
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.
MORE: Georgia Redistricting Meetings Set to Resume
The final hearing will be virtual participation only. It is scheduled for July 30. You will be able to speak at this hearing but must registration in advance. To sign up and register, visit this website.
Citizens can also submit written comments here.
All the hearings are from 5 to 7 p.m. They are livestreamed at: https://www.legis.ga.gov/ and videos of each hearing will be available there also.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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