Local officials have talked about district lines in Madison County for the past several weeks, but their eyes will soon turn to Atlanta, where legislators will tackle reapportionment in a couple of weeks.
And how exactly will Madison County be sliced? Right now, Madison County includes portions of two House of Representative districts — seats 29 and 30, with Republicans Alan Powell and Tom McCall holding those posts. So, could Madison County be split further into three or four districts, or could the county be included in just one district?
McCall, who represents the southern section of the county, said he doesn’t expect much tampering with the county’s current House districts.
“The best I can tell it’s going to stay just about like it is,” said McCall of Madison County’s House boundaries.
Powell, who represents the northern portion of the county, said House districts will include roughly 53,000 to 54,000 residents. He said those drawing maps for the House are “being very guarded with what they’re putting out.”
“But if I had to take a guess, I would think it would be similar to what it is now,” said Powell of how Madison County’s lines will look.
Meanwhile, what about Senate District 47, which includes all of Madison County? Will all of the county remain in that district currently served by Madison County’s Frank Ginn?
Ginn, a freshman senator, said he’s new to the reapportionment process, which occurs every 10 years after the Census. Georgia legislators will convene for a special session Aug. 15 to create new boundary lines. Ginn said his Senate district population grew over the past 10 years. So the district 47 boundaries must shrink to offset that growth. Each of the state’s 56 Senate districts must include roughly 173,000 residents. The district population can deviate by just one percent from that total. District 47 includes 194,000 residents, according to the 2010 Census.
“This district has to shrink and you can do that a million different ways,” said Ginn. “Every district around me is held by a more senior senator, so I feel I may be the marshmallow guy.”
But Ginn said he’s been assured that mapmakers are trying to keep counties whole within districts. There’s always a fear during reapportionment, that if counties are split too much, citizens of that county will lack a real voice in the legislative process.
“I know the (Senate reapportionment) committee is trying to keep as many counties whole as possible,” said Ginn. “I’m hoping that we can get all of the counties I serve in whole (within the district).”
Perhaps the most contentious reapportionment fights will come over south Georgia boundaries, where several House districts will be lost due to north Georgia growth.
Meanwhile, north Georgia will get a new U.S. Congressional seat. And lawmakers must draw boundaries for that position, too.
Madison County’s legislative representatives expect state officials to tackle local district lines this month, too. Madison County commissioners have agreed to keep their district boundaries as close to the current ones as possible. The board held a public hearing Monday on the district maps, but no one spoke.
Due to growth in the southern section of the county, BOC districts 3 and 5 must shrink slightly. Meanwhile, the board of education is expected to remain with a map very similar to its current one. The county school board has a different district map than the commissioners, with district 2 serving the Danielsville area for the BOE, while the county seat is served by district 4 at the BOC table.
McCall said that however state officials vote on reapportionment in August, he expects a legal challenge to follow.
“Whatever we pass, there will probably be a lawsuit,” said McCall. “And if it goes to a federal judge, there’s no telling what will happen.”
Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, discriminatory voting practices were outlawed. And gerrymandering along racial lines is also outlawed. That means federal judges could have the ultimate say on where district boundaries are set in Georgia, based on their review of racial data.
McCall said there’s often a difference of opinion on what should remain intact within districts, depending on where you live in the country.
“They (up north) think cities shouldn’t be split,” said McCall. “But down here we think counties shouldn’t be split.”
