The work to design Georgia’s political future for the next decade has begun in earnest.
The Augusta Commission’s subcommittee on redistricting met for the first time Wednesday morning.
The subcommittee has four members: Ben Hasan, Jordan Johnson, Sammie Sias and Sean Frantom, who was selected as chairman.
MORE: Georgia Redistricting Kickoff Set for Next Week
Members decided using the traditional method will again be the best way to tackle the challenge.
“The commission, the local delegation and the school board will each have four members appointed to the committee,” Frantom said. “Once we get the census numbers, we’ll go through each census area. We’ll dive deep into it making sure we’re setting those guidelines and holding to the standards that we have to.”
He said they are working to set the framework so when they do get the census numbers, they are ready to move forward.
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The subcommittee voted to have a budget of $30,000 for the project. That must still be approved by the full commission.
Elections Director Lynn Bailey, who recently announced her retirement, will help with the redistricting process.
“We’re definitely going to lean on her heavily moving forward to make sure this process is right,” said Frantom.
Tuesday night, the Georgia Senate Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee held a joint session with the House Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee.
Committee members took comments from people across the state who signed up to testify virtually.
The people commenting ranged from rising high school seniors to retirees, groups representing people of color and women, native Georgians and the state’s immigrant populations.
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Georgia Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler presented committee members with how demographics have shifted. She said since the 2011 redistricting, there has been a 40% increase in Asian-American population, 26% increase in Latinos and 14% rise in Black population, while the state’s White population grew by 2%.
At stake are maps setting boundaries for 56 state Senate districts, 180 state House districts and 14 U.S. House districts.
Regional town hall style meetings will be held through the end of July:
• Monday, June 28, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Atlanta;
• Tuesday, June 29, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Cumming;
• Wednesday, June 30, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Dalton;
• Tuesday, July 6, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Athens;
• Wednesday, July 7, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Augusta;
• Monday, July 26, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Brunswick;
• Tuesday, July 27, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Albany;
• Wednesday, July 28, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Columbus;
• Thursday, July 29, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. in Macon;
• Friday, July 30, 2021, from 5 – 7 p.m. via virtual participation only.
These public hearings will be livestreamed and archived at www.legis.ga.gov.
MORE: Augusta Commission Goes Forward on Redistricting Committee
One hold-up in the process, both locally and at the state level, has been getting updated population numbers from the U.S. Census Department due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The state committee said it may be August before they have the numbers, but local numbers may not be available until as late as October or November.
Bailey hopes redistricting will be finished by the end of this year.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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