Nonpartisan League of Women Voters to sponsor redistricting education programs

The release of the 2020 census numbers sets the stage for a realignment of voting district boundaries, which will remain in effect for the next decade.

The nonpartisan League of Women Voters wants to help people understand the process — and what’s at stake.

Population is the ultimate determiner, with an eye to ensuring each Congressional District — and the legislative districts within each state

— contain roughly the same number of people. Ideally, the districts should be “communities of interest” that share a common set of concerns.

The rules for redistricting vary from state to state. In Georgia, the General Assembly handles the process. House Speaker David Ralston, R-blue Ridge, said last week that he expects a special session to be called late this year, after more detailed county- and city-level population numbers are released in the fall.

The Rome Floyd LWV chapter announced Wednesday that they will be furnishing resources to help people in the area participate in the process.

Redistricting will “determine which groups of citizens’ votes will be counted together in each district to elect their state representatives and senators and U. S. representatives,” the release states. “This process is designed to include public comment to help legislators make the best decisions in drawing voter districts.”

Two community service projects are planned for the coming weeks.

The first is to provide copies of the current Georgia and Floyd County voting district maps, including resources about redistricting, to our local public and college libraries.

The second is to sponsor in May a nonpartisan expert to explain redistricting. The program will be on Georgia Highlands College Community Watch TV, which can also be seen on Youtube.