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I AM GOOCHLAND COUNTY ATTORNEY TERRA MUGGY HERE TODAY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE COUNTY'S ELECTION DISTRICT REDISTRICTING.
LET ME START THOUGH, WITH A TECHNICAL ISSUE.
UM, I DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE A USER ON ZOOM, UH, THIS AFTERNOON.
ARE YOU CAPABLE OF PLEASE RAISING YOUR HAND TO INDICATE THAT YOU ARE GETTING THE AUDIO FOR THE MEETING? UM, IF YOU COULD RAISE YOUR HAND EITHER USING STAR NINE, IF YOU'RE ON A PHONE OR USE THE RAISE YOUR HAND BUTTON, THEN WE'RE SURE THAT YOU'RE GETTING AUDIO FROM THE MEETING.
WARREN, LET ME KNOW IF YOU SEE THAT OCCURRING.
AND WHILE, UM, ANYBODY WHO'S IN THE ROOM AND HAS A QUESTION I'M GOING TO ASK TO COME UP TO THE MICROPHONE AS OF THIS MOMENT, WE DON'T HAVE ANY RESIDENTS, UM, IN THE ROOM.
SO WE'LL MAKE THAT ANNOUNCEMENT AGAIN.
IF SOMEONE SHOWS UP, LET'S MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE SAME THING.
SOMETIMES WHEN PEOPLE HEAR REDISTRICTING MOST COMMONLY, THEY THINK IT'S SCHOOL ATTENDANCE ZONES, CAUSE THAT MAY HAPPEN MORE FREQUENTLY, BUT WE ARE TODAY TALKING ABOUT ELECTION DISTRICT REDISTRICTING BASED ON THE 2020 CENSUS.
IT HAS TO DO WITH VOTING, NOT AT ALL WITH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE ZONES.
SO WHAT IS REDISTRICTING? IT'S THE PROCESS OF DRAWING NEW ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARIES.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONDUCTS CENSUS EVERY 10 YEARS TO COUNT THE U S POPULATION AND THEN CHANGES ARE MADE TO ELECTION DISTRICTS AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, FEDERAL, STATE, AND AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
AND WHY DO WE DO REDISTRICTING? WHAT POPULATION, AS WE ALL KNOW, CHANGES UNEVENLY, AND THAT CREATES UNEQUAL POPULATION IN ELECTION DISTRICTS, BUT EQUAL POPULATION IS THE DESIRED GOAL TO SUPPORT OUR CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR EACH PERSON'S VOTE TO COUNT EQUALLY.
SO REDISTRICTING IS SIMPLY THE PROCESS BY WHICH ELECTRIC ELECTION DISTRICT POPULATIONS ARE EQUALIZED AGAIN.
AFTER THE U S CENSUS, THIS MAP SHOWS THE ACTION DISTRICTS THAT WERE ADOPTED AFTER THE 2010 CENSUS.
AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, THE COUNTY HAS FIVE ELECTION DISTRICTS AND FROM EACH DISTRICT, THEY ELECT A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND THE SCHOOL BOARD BACK IN, AFTER THE 2010 CENSUS, THE COUNTY'S POPULATION WAS JUST UNDER 22,000 PEOPLE.
AND IN ORDER TO HAVE EQUAL ROUGHLY EQUAL DISTRICTS, UM, THE, EACH
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DISTRICT HAD A POPULATION OF ABOUT 4,300 RESIDENTS.NOW THIS MAP SHOWS THOSE SAME, UH, ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARIES FROM 2010, BUT IT ACTUALLY SHOWS THE 2020 CENSUS POPULATION INSIDE THE GOODSON COUNTIES POPULATION INCREASED BY 12% BETWEEN 2010 CENSUS IN 2020.
AND OUR CURRENT POPULATION FIGURE TOTAL POPULATION IS 24,727 RESIDENTS.
HOWEVER, IN VIRGINIA, BY STATE LAW, WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO USE TOTAL POPULATION FOR REDISTRICTING.
INSTEAD WE'RE REQUIRED TO USE A NUMBER CALLED THE ADJUSTED POPULATION.
THAT ADJUSTED POPULATION WAS DETERMINED BY THE DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES WHEN THEY REALLOCATED PRISONERS FROM STRAIGHT CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES TO THEIR HOME ADDRESSES.
AND THE COUNTY'S ADJUSTED POPULATION IS 24,149.
THAT'S THE NUMBER THAT WE USED FOR REDISTRICTING AND GENERALLY EQUAL DISTRICTS OCCURS AT ABOUT 4,800 RESIDENTS.
NOW I WILL COME BACK TO THIS MAP AND OTHER MAPS AND NUMBERS, BUT BEFORE I DO THAT, LET ME GO THROUGH THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS.
AND THE OTHER CRITERIA THAT WE USED FOR REDISTRICTING, THE PREDOMINANT GOAL OF REDISTRICTING IS TO HAVE DISTRICTS SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL IN POPULATION.
THAT IS THE GOAL OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION AND UNDER FEDERAL LAW, LEGALLY SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL MEANS PLUS OR MINUS 5% IN EACH DISTRICT.
THE SECOND GOAL FOR FEDERAL CONSTITUTION AND FEDERAL LAW IS THAT DISTRICTS BE CONTIGUOUS AND COMPACT.
CONTIGUOUS JUST MEANS ADJACENT THAT THEY'RE ONE GEOGRAPHIC AREA, NOT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT AREAS IN SEPARATE PIECES AND COMPACT MEANS PACK TOGETHER RATHER THAN SPREAD OUT.
WE'RE ALSO REQUIRED UNDER FEDERAL LAW TO ENSURE THAT RACE IS NOT A PREDOMINANT FACTOR IN A REDISTRICTING DECISION.
AND THAT MEANS BOTH THAT A DISTRICT CANNOT BE DRAWN SPECIFICALLY TO DILUTE THE NUMBER OF MINORITY VOTERS IN THAT DISTRICT.
AND ALSO NOT TO CONCENTRATE MINORITY VOTERS IN THAT DISTRICT.
THE FOURTH FEDERAL REQUIREMENT FOR REDISTRICTING IS THAT YOU USE CLEARLY OBSERVABLE BOUNDARIES FOR DISTRICT LINES.
CLEARLY OBSERVABLE BOUNDARIES INCLUDE STREETS, ROADS, HIGHWAYS, RIVERS, AND CREEKS.
BUT I HAVE TO TELL YOU WHAT BECAME MORE IMPORTANT AS WE WERE REDISTRICTING IS THAT YOU HAVE TO USE CENSUS BLOCKS THAT ARE CREATED BY THE FEDERAL CENSUS BUREAU.
NOW EACH CENSUS BLOCK IS CREATED USING CLEARLY OBSERVABLE BOUNDARIES, BUT LET ME EXPLAIN A BIT ABOUT CENSUS BLOCKS BECAUSE EVERYONE ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO DOES REDISTRICTING HAS TO USE THEM, THEY ARE THE SMALLEST DATA SET ABOUT REDISTRICTING PROVIDED BY THE CENSUS BUREAU.
SO YOU ACTUALLY CREATE YOUR DISTRICTS BY INCLUDING AN EXCLUDING CENSUS BLOCKS.
THE CENSUS BUREAU IDENTIFIED 780 CENSUS BLOCKS IN GOOCHLAND IN THE 2020 CENSUS.
BUT WE CANNOT TELL YOU THAT THERE'S ANY RHYME OR REASON TO THE SIZE AND POPULATION OF A CENSUS BLOCK ON THIS SLIDE.
YOU SEE THIS VERY LARGE CENSUS BLOCK IN THE MIDDLE, VERY LARGE GEOGRAPHICALLY.
IT HAS, UH, THERE, UM, POINTING TO WHAT I CALL THE LABEL OF THE CENSUS BLOCK.
THERE IS A SHORTENED, UH, PORTION OF THE BLOCK IDENTIFIER.
THE FULL IDENTIFIER IS 15 NUMBERS.
I BELIEVE THIS ONLY HAS THE LAST FOR THE SECOND LINE.
AND THAT LABEL IS THE ADJUSTED POPULATION OF THIS CENSUS BLOCK FROM THE CENSUS DATA.
AND THEN THE THIRD NUMBER IS ACTUALLY NOT A CENSUS AT ALL.
THAT THIRD NUMBER IS THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN THIS CENSUS BLOCK.
AND THAT DATA CAME NOT FROM THE CENSUS BUREAU, BUT FROM THE GOOCHLAND COUNTY REGISTERS REGISTRARS FILED AS OF NOVEMBER 10TH, 2021.
SO YOU SEE THAT VERY LARGE BLOCK, AND THEN YOU SEE THIS MUCH SMALLER BLOCK RIGHT THERE THAT ALSO HAS THAT SAME IDENTIFIER POPULATION REGISTERED VOTER NUMBERS.
AND SO THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE BUNDLING TOGETHER, WHATEVER BLOCKS OF WHATEVER SIZE.
LET ME EXPLAIN TO YOU WHAT PORTION OF THE MAP YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
THE TAN AREA IS THE PROPOSED DISTRICT FOR THE BLUE AREA TO THE LEFT IS PROPOSED DISTRICT THREE.
AND DOWN HERE, THE ORANGE AREA IS PORTION OF PROPOSED DISTRICT FIVE.
THIS BRIGHT GREEN LINE THAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS THAT COLOR BECAUSE IT IS THE BOUNDARY FOR VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES BETWEEN DISTRICTS 56 AND 57.
AND THAT IS AS OF THE APPROVED REDISTRICTING MAP FOR
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VIRGINIA, THAT'S ALREADY BEEN ADOPTED BY THE VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT HERE.YOU SEE IT SERVING AS A PORTION OF THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN DISTRICTS FOUR AND DISTRICT FIVE.
SO WHAT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT CENSUS BLOCKS IS THAT IT IS BY BUNDLING TOGETHER CENSUS BLOCKS THAT YOU CREATE THE DISTRICTS AND THE DISTRICT LINES.
THE FIFTH LEGAL REQUIREMENT IS NOT A FEDERAL REQUIREMENT.
THIS IS IN FACT, A STATE LAW REQUIREMENT THAT YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARIES, WHICH IS WHY I JUST POINTED OUT THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES BOUNDARY.
AND LET ME EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BETTER ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
THESE ARE THE FOUR ITEMS THAT ARE THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CREATING PRECINCTS.
NOW WE KNOW THAT THE ELECTION DISTRICTS, THE FIVE BIG DISTRICTS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK WE'RE DOING AND REDISTRICTING, BUT A SUBSET OF EACH ELECTION DISTRICT IS CALLED A PRECINCT.
AND WE ALSO HAVE TO CREATE PRECINCTS UNDER THESE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS AND ESTABLISH POLLING PLACES.
NOW PRECINCTS ARE HAVE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN EACH.
AND THAT'S WHY WE ADDED THE GENERAL REGISTRAR'S DATA ABOUT NUMBERS, OF REGISTERED VOTERS INTO OUR REDISTRICTING MAP AND ADDING IT WITH A CENSUS BUREAU INFORMATION.
CURRENTLY GOOCHLAND HAS TWO PRECINCTS IN EACH ELECTION DISTRICT.
SO WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 10 OUT IN THE DISTRICTS, AND THAT CONTINUES TO BE THE CASE IN THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP.
YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT PRECINCTS HAVE TO HAVE BETWEEN 105,000 REGISTERED VOTERS AT THE TIME OF ITS CREATION.
THAT IS THE LEGAL REQUIREMENT.
AND THEN NUMBER EIGHT REFERS TO WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT ON THE LAST SLIDE, WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CREATE A SPLIT PRECINCT.
PRECINCTS MUST BE WHOLLY CONTAINED WITHIN ONE FEDERAL AND STATE ELECTION DISTRICT.
AND SO THE ONE LINE FOR STATE ELECTION DISTRICTS THAT BISECTS GOOCHLAND IS THE VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, UH, BOUNDARY BETWEEN DISTRICTS 57 AND 56.
AND I'LL SHOW YOU WHERE THAT BISECTS GOOCHLAND AND HOW WE HAVE CRAFTED OUR MAPS SO THAT WE DO NOT HAVE ANY SPLIT PRECINCTS.
THE FINAL CRITERIA FOR ME TO GO THROUGH WITH YOU ARE THOSE THAT ARE LEGALLY PERMITTED AND WERE APPROVED BY OUR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, BUT THEY ARE NOT ACQUIRED.
AND HERE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ADOPTED THE CRITERIA THAT WE MOVED THE FEWEST NUMBER OF VOTERS FROM DISTRICT TO DISTRICT, BECAUSE THAT MINIMIZES THE DISRUPTION OF PEOPLE WHO MAY HAVE LIVED IN GOOCHLAND FOR YEARS AND BEEN IN THE SAME VOTING DISTRICT AND THAT WE RETAIN THE SAME BASIC SHAPE OF THE CURRENT DISTRICTS.
AGAIN, THAT WILL MINIMIZE THE VOTER DISRUPTION AND ALSO MADE A DECISION THAT RESIDENTS WHO LIVE IN THE SAME SUBDIVISION SHOULD VOTE IN THE SAME DISTRICT TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE.
AND THAT'S FRANKLY DECREASES VOTER CONFUSION.
GENERALLY NEIGHBORS, NEIGHBORS IN THE SAME SUBDIVISION EXPECT TO VOTE FOR THE SAME CHOICES FOR CANDIDATES FOR ELECTION.
AND THE LAST THING SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE IS A CRITERIA THAT WE DID NOT CONSIDER, WHICH IS WHY IT IS STRUCK THROUGH, ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE LEGALLY PERMISSIBLE FOR US TO HAVE PROTECTED INCUMBENTS, BE DRAWING DISTRICT LINES SO THAT PEOPLE CURRENTLY SERVING ELECTED OFFICE REMAINED IN THEIR DISTRICTS.
GOODWIN'S BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, DIRECTED STAFF, NOT TO USE THAT AS I CRITERIA CRITERIA.
AND SO IT WAS NOT CONSIDERED AT ANY POINT THAT WE WERE CREATING THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP, THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS.
I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH BRIEFLY.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT IS THAT THE PRIMARY GOALS ARE COMMUNITY INPUT AND TRANSPARENCY.
AND ALTHOUGH I'M STANDING BEFORE YOU THIS AFTERNOON, UM, THE REDISTRICTING TEAM INCLUDES NOT JUST MYSELF, BUT ALSO INTERIM COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, MANUEL ALVAREZ, DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, JOANNE HUNTER, OUR GENERAL REGISTRAR, RYAN MULLIGAN, AND OUR GIS STAFF, BOTH JONATHAN WORLEY AND DIVYA GEORGE.
THIS TEAM ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY WHO PARTICIPATED IN DRAWING THE NEW PROPOSED, UH, REDISTRICTING MAT AND NO MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, THE SCHOOL BOARD, OR EVEN THE ELECTORAL BOARD PARTICIPATED, PROVIDED ANY INPUT OR KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT THE MAP UNTIL IT WAS POSTED FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE THIS IN FACT IS, UH, I'M SORRY, THIS IN FACT IS THE PRIOR, UH, MAP, EXCUSE ME, THE ELA CURRENT ELECTION DISTRICTS WITH 2020 POPULATION.
I FLASHED IT UP EARLIER, BUT LET ME LOOK, SHOW YOU THE POPULATION IN EQUITY WE HAD BEFORE WE STARTED THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS.
THIS CHART SHOWS YOU THE ADJUSTED IN EACH OF OUR CURRENT FIVE DISTRICTS AND THEN THE TARGET POPULATION, IF WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE THEM EQUAL, THAT'S 48 30 AND THEN IT SHOWS YOU THE
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DIFFERENCE EACH DISTRICT IS FROM THAT GOAL.AND SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN DISTRICTS IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY WERE SIGNIFICANTLY OFF OF THAT TARGET POPULATION.
WHAT DID WE DO ONCE WE HAD THIS MAP WITH THE DATA IN IT? THE FIRST THING WE DID WAS WE ALLOWED OUR REDISTRICTING SOFTWARE TO CREATE DISTRICTS USING ONLY THE FIRST FIVE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS.
THE VERY FIRST SLIDE I SHOWED YOU, THEN THE RE-DISTRICTING TEAM REVIEWED THE MAP THAT WAS CREATED AND MADE ADJUSTMENTS.
AND THOSE ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE BASED ON THE BOARD'S APPROVED CRITERIA, AS WELL AS, UH, WE THEN WENT THROUGH THE PRECINCT LEGAL REQUIREMENTS, DREW PRECINCT LINES AND IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL POLLING PLACES.
ALL OF THAT RESULTED IN THIS, THE PROPOSED REDISTRICT, THE MAP, IT WAS POSTED TO THE COUNTY'S WEBSITE, THE REDISTRICTING WEBSITE ON DECEMBER 17TH.
SO IT'S BEEN AVAILABLE TO RESIDENTS FOR MORE THAN THREE WEEKS.
SO WHERE ARE WE ON THE POPULATION ON THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAT? WELL, HERE'S A CHART THAT SHOWS YOU THAT SAME ANALYSIS OF DATA FOR THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP.
YOU SEE THE POPULATION IN EACH DISTRICT OF THE PROPOSED MAP, THE TARGETED GOAL OF POPULATION OF 48 30.
AND THEN THE DIFFERENCE FROM THAT GOAL, THEN WE HAVE THE DEVIATION SHOWN AS A PERCENTAGE BECAUSE AS YOU REMEMBER, EACH DISTRICT MUST BE PLUS OR MINUS THAT TARGET POPULATION GOAL.
AND EACH OF THE DISTRICTS IN THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP ARE, BUT LET ME GO THROUGH EACH DISTRICT TO SHOW YOU A DISTRICT SPECIFIC MAP THAT SHOWS YOU THE SHADING FOR EACH PRECINCT.
AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO PERHAPS IN THE MORE TYPICAL ONE TO FIVE NUMERICALLY, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN GOOCHLAND NEEDED TO BE MADE IN THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL AREAS.
SO IT ACTUALLY IS MAKES SENSE TO START OFF HERE IN PROPOSED DISTRICT FIVE, I WILL TELL YOU THAT IN THE DISTRICT MAPS, AND THESE ARE ALL AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE, THEY'RE ALSO POSTED HERE IN THE ROOM.
UM, THE SHADING SHOWS YOU THE PRECINCT AREAS.
SO THE DARKER SHADING ON THE LEFT IS A PROPOSED PRECINCT 5 0 1.
WHEREAS THE LIGHTER AREA ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE WOULD BE PROPOSED PRECINCT 5 0 2 DISTRICT FIVE NEEDED TO DECREASE ITS POPULATION BY 768 RESIDENTS.
NOW IT'S SOUTHERN AND EASTERN BORDERS CAN'T BE CHANGED BECAUSE THEY'RE ACTUALLY THE BORDERS OF THE COUNTY.
THEN WE NEEDED TO RETAIN ITS WESTERN BORDER BECAUSE IT'S WESTERN BORDER IS WHERE THE STATE HOUSE OF DELEGATES ELECTION DISTRICT 56 AND 57 OCCURS.
SO DISTRICT FIVES IN POPULATION HAD TO OCCUR COMPLETELY BY CHANGING ITS BORDER WITH DISTRICT FOUR.
AND THERE WERE THREE CHANGES THAT WE MADE.
SOME CENSUS BLOCKS WERE ACTUALLY MOVED INTO DISTRICT FOUR TO KEEP ALL OF THE KINLOCH, SOME DIVISION ADDRESSES TOGETHER.
BLACKS REMOVED FROM DISTRICT FOUR TO DISTRICT FIVE SO THAT THE MOSAIC SUBDIVISION WOULD NOT BE SPLIT BY THE DISTRICT LINES.
AND ONE CENSUS BLOCK ON THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE COUNTY'S BORDER WAS TRANSFERRED FROM TO D FOUR, TO OBTAIN AN APPROPRIATE POPULATION HEROES.
THE STATS ON THAT PROPOSED DISTRICT FIVE, THE ACTUAL ADJUSTED POPULATION, THE DIFFERENCE FROM OUR TARGET AND THAT PERCENTAGE ONLY HALF A PERCENT MORE THAN THE TARGET.
THEN AS TO THE PRECINCTS, WE HAVE THE NUMBERS OF REGISTERED VOTERS.
YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THESE NUMBERS ARE ALMOST EQUAL IN SIZE.
THEY'RE PRETTY CLOSE TO EQUAL.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE ALTHOUGH THE LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR A PRECINCT IS 100 TO 5,000 REGISTERED VOTERS, WHEN IT HAS CREATED A BETTER ELECTION PROCESS OCCURS, IF YOU HAVE ROUGHLY EQUAL, UH, NUMBERS OF VOTERS AT EACH PRECINCT.
SO ALTHOUGH NOT LEGALLY REQUIRED, WE DID MAKE A GOAL TO CREATE A ROUGHLY EQUAL PRECINCTS FOR, UH, IN EACH DISTRICT.
THE PROPOSED POLLING PLACES IDENTIFIED HERE ARE THE SAME POLLING PLACES THAT HAVE BEEN IN USE IN DISTRICT FIVE.
SO LET ME MOVE ON TO DISTRICT FOUR.
AGAIN, THE MAP SHOWS WITH SHADING PRECINCT FOUR, A ONE ON THE LEFT AND 4 0 2 ON THE RIGHT DISTRICT, FOUR NEEDED TO DECREASE ITS POPULATION BY 1,009 RESIDENTS.
IT'S NORTHERN AND EASTERN BOUNDARIES CAN'T BE CHANGED BECAUSE THEY FOLLOW THE COUNTY BORDERS AND DISTRICT FOURS, WESTERN BOUNDARY MOVED CONSIDERABLY EAST TO SHALLOW WELL ROAD FROM WHERE IT USED TO BE WESTERN OILVILLE.
THAT IS BECAUSE DISTRICT THREE NEEDED TO AGREE TO GAIN A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF RESIDENTS OVER 1200.
I JUST DESCRIBED TO YOU A MINUTE AGO, THE CHANGES WE MADE
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BETWEEN DISTRICTS FOUR AND FIVE ON THE BORDER RELATING TO KEN LOCKE, MOSAIC, UM, AND THE OTHER DISTRICT ON THE OTHER BLOCK ON THE EASTERN SIDE.NOW THE PRECINCT BOUNDARY IN FOUR IS BASED ON THE VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES DISTRICT BOUNDARY SO THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE A SPLIT PRECINCT.
SO THERE'S THAT GREEN LINE THAT I TOLD YOU WAS THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES PRECINCT, UM, USING THAT FOR OUR PRECINCT BOUNDARY DID RESULT IN AN UNEQUAL NUMBER OF VOTERS, REGISTERED VOTERS IN EACH OF DISTRICT FOURS PRECINCTS.
NOW THE PRECINCT AS SKETCHED HERE CERTAINLY MEETS THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS, BUT AGAIN, WITH ONLY 1100 REGISTERED VOTERS IN 4 0 1 AND OVER 3,100 IN 4 0 2, THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE AS GREAT AN ELECTION PROCESS.
UH, BUT IT IS LEGALLY PERMITTED.
THE DIFFERENCE IN POPULATION HERE IS JUST UNDER, UH, BY 2.7%, OUR TARGET AND THE TWO PROPOSED POLLING PLACES HAVEN'T CHANGED FROM WHAT'S BEEN IN USE IN DISTRICT FOUR.
THEN WE GO TO THE CENTRAL PART OF THE COUNTY TO PROPOSE DISTRICT THREE, AGAIN, WITH A PRECINCT, SEWING THE SHADED BY SHADING 3 0 1 ON THE LEFT AND 3 0 2 ON THE RIGHT DISTRICT THREE ACTUALLY HAD TO GAIN THE MOST NUMBER OF RESIDENTS, UH, 1,231.
PLUS FRANKLY, IT NEEDED TO HAVE 500 RESIDENTS AVAILABLE TO GO WEST FOR DISTRICT ONE AND TWO TO PROPOSE DISTRICT THREE, CUT.
YOU CAN'T MOVE THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN BOUNDARIES BECAUSE THERE THE COUNTY BORDERS.
SO TO MEET THE APPROPRIATE POPULATION DETHRONES EASTERN AND WESTERN BOUNDARIES, BOTH CHANGED SUBSTANTIALLY.
AS I MENTIONED A MINUTE AGO, DISTRICT THREE IS BOUNDARY WITH DISTRICT FORUM MOVED EAST CONSIDERABLY TO SHALLOW WELL ROAD DISTRICT THREE'S BOUNDARY WITH DISTRICT FIVE ACTUALLY WAS UNCHANGED.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S A BOUNDARY.
AS I SAID FOR THE VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES BETWEEN DISTRICTS 56 AND 57.
NOW DISTRICT THREE IS WESTERN BOUNDARY FOLLOWS COURTHOUSE CREEK.
AND THAT CAUSES THE CORE OF THE COURTHOUSE VILLAGE TO MOVE INTO DISTRICT TWO.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT COURTHOUSE CREEK WAS USED AS THE BOUNDARY HERE BECAUSE ALL OF THE ADJOINING CENSUS BLOCKS USED THE CREEK AS THEIR BOUNDARIES.
SO WHEN WE WERE PUTTING TOGETHER CENSUS BLOCKS, THE CREEK ENDED UP BEING THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE TWO DISTRICTS.
NOW THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE PRIOR DISTRICT THREE BOUNDARY ON THE SIDE WITH DISTRICT TWO USED TO HAVE A STATE HOUSE OF DELEGATES DISTRICT BOUNDARY LINE GOING THROUGH IT.
AND SO THERE WAS A CHUNK UP HERE IN THREE THAT USED TO BE, I WANT TO DO THAT EVERY TIME OR NOT.
IT USED TO BE IN DISTRICT TWO SINCE THE STATE HOUSE OF DELEGATES LINE IS NO LONGER THERE.
THOSE BLOCKS WERE MOVED INTO DISTRICT THREE TO ATTAIN THE APPROPRIATE POPULATION NEEDED AND CREATE A MORE CONTIGUOUS AND COMPACT DISTRICT FOR THE DATA ON PROPOSED DISTRICT THREE, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE POPULATION IS WITHIN THE TARGET PLUS AND MINUS 5%, THE REGISTERED VOTERS ARE FAIRLY CLOSE TO EQUAL.
AT LEAST THEY'RE ROUGHLY THE SAME NUMBERS IN EACH PRECINCT.
AND THERE ARE TWO NEW PROPOSED POLLING PLACES.
THE GOOCHLAND COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER AS A COUNTY OWNED FACILITY, PUBLIC FACILITIES ARE PREFERRED FOR, UM, BY UNDER LAW, BY, UH, FOUR PRECINCTS POLLING PLACES.
AND THEN RANDOLPH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
THE GOODSON COUNTY SCHOOLS HAS AGREED THAT STUDENTS WOULD NOT BE IN CLASSES ON ELECTION DAY SO THAT SCHOOLS COULD BE AVAILABLE AS POLLING PLACES.
THAT BRINGS ME NEXT AS I HEAD WEST AND THE COUNTY OUT TO PROPOSE DISTRICT TWO, AGAIN, WITH THE SHADED PRECINCTS TO A ONE BEING DARKER 2 0 2 BEING LIGHTER DISTRICT TWO NEEDED TO GAIN APPROXIMATELY 415 RESIDENTS AND TO PROVIDE THE ONE WITH ABOUT 132 RESIDENTS, D TWO, UH, IT'S NORTHERN AND SOUTH SOUTHERN BOUNDARIES, CAN'T BE CHANGED BECAUSE THERE'S A COUNTY BORDERS.
AND I DID JUST EXPLAIN HOW DISTRICT TWO'S EASTERN BOUNDARY NOW FOLLOWS COURTHOUSE CREEK, UM, AND THE CHANGE TO THE NORTHEAST BOUNDARY BASED ON THE REMOVAL OF THE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT LINE.
SO WHEN WE LOOK THEN AT THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF BOUND OF, EXCUSE ME, WESTERN BOUNDARY OF DISTRICT TWO IN THE VICINITY OF CEDAR PLAINS ROAD, WE DID MOVE SOME CENSUS BLOCKS.
THERE WERE SOME THAT WERE REMOVED FROM DISTRICT TWO OVER TO DISTRICT ONE.
AND THAT WAS BECAUSE THE CENSUS BLOCKS WERE SPLITTING MEREDITH FARMS SUBDIVISION.
AND IN ORDER TO TRY AND KEEP NEIGHBORS IN THE SAME SUBDIVISION TOGETHER, THEY
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WERE SWITCHED.AND FOR THAT SAME REASON, SOME CENSUS BLOCKS WERE MOVED FROM DISTRICT ONE TO DISTRICT TWO, TO KEEP RESIDENTS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IN THE RED EYE BLUFF AND BOWLING LANE PLACE, SUBDIVISIONS ALL VOTING IN DISTRICT TWO, AND THEN TO OBTAIN THE APPROPRIATE POPULATION.
THERE IS ONE CENSUS BLOCK THAT WAS MOVED FROM DISTRICT TWO TO DISTRICT ONE.
HERE'S THE DATA ON THE PROPOSED DISTRICT TWO WITH AN ADJUSTED POPULATION WITHIN THE PLUS OR MINUS 5%, A VERY EQUAL, UH, PRECINCT LINE OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN EACH PRECINCT.
AND TWO NEW AREAS TO VOTE, UH, PROPOSED TO BE CHIEF CORNERSTONE BAPTIST CHURCH, AND THEN THE COUNTY OWNED CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER.
AND LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST WE HAVE PROPOSED DISTRICT ONE.
IT DID HAVE THE LEAST CHANGE IN POPULATION.
UM, ONLY NEEDING TO GAIN 132 RESIDENTS IT'S NORTHERN SOUTHERN AND WESTERN BOUNDARIES CAN NOT BE CHANGED BECAUSE THEY FOLLOW THE COUNTY BORDERS.
SO I ALREADY EXPLAINED TO YOU THAT WE CHANGED THE BOUNDARY WITH DISTRICT TWO, UM, IN PART TO MAKE SURE THAT SUBDIVISIONS WERE KEPT TOGETHER.
AND THEN ACTUALLY JUST TO ENSURE THAT WE HIT THE RIGHT POPULATION GOAL FOR THE DISTRICT.
SO THIS STATISTICS DATA WE HAVE ON PROPOSED DISTRICT, ONE SHOWS THAT IT'S WITHIN A PLUS 3% OF THE TARGET ADJUSTED POPULATION THAT REGISTERED VOTERS ARE MUCH CLOSER TO EQUAL AND THAT THEY WOULD VOTE BURT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AS A NEW PROPOSED POLLING PLACE, BUT CONTINUING TO USE GOOCHLAND FIRE RESCUE STATION SIX, THE COUNTY OWNED FACILITY FOR THE POLLING PLACE, UM, IN, UH, PRECINCT 1 0 2, THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA AFTER REDISTRICTING MAP WAS CREATED.
THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP STAFF REVIEWED THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA OF THE COUNTY AND EACH DISTRICT, ALL DEMOGRAPHIC DATA IS ACTUALLY BASED ON TOTAL POPULATION FROM THE CENSUS.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE THE ADJUSTED POPULATION DATA THAT WE GOT FROM THE DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES, DIDN'T PROVIDE THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE PERSONS WHO WERE MOVED TO CREATE THAT NUMBER.
SO WE HAD TO USE THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA BASED ON THE TOTAL POPULATION.
WHAT OCCURRED WHEN WE FINISHED THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS AFTER THE 2010 CENSUS? WELL, DEMOGRAPHICALLY THAT CENSUS ONLY REPORTED RESIDENTS AS WHITE, BLACK OR OTHER THE COUNTY HAD ALMOST 17,000 RESIDENTS ARE REPORTED AS WHITE OR 77.5%.
WE HAD ALMOST 42 RESIDENTS WHO REPORTED AS BLACK.
IT WAS 19.2% OF THE COUNTY'S POPULATION.
THE TOTAL NONWHITE POPULATION THOUGH WAS ABOUT 22.5%.
AND I POINT THAT OUT BECAUSE THAT TENDS TO BE, AS WE SEE WITH THE 2020 DATA, A BETTER COMPARITOR.
SO WHEN I LOOK AT THE 2020 COUNTYWIDE DATA DEMOGRAPHICS, LET ME START BY TELLING YOU THAT THE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR THE 2020 CENSUS, NOT ONLY ALLOWED RESIDENTS TO CHOOSE AMONGST THE RACES OF WHITE, BLACK, ASIAN, AMERICAN, INDIAN, AND HAWAIIAN, BUT IT ALSO INCLUDED ANOTHER 50 MULTI-RACIAL CARROT, UH, CATEGORIES SO THAT PEOPLE COULD REPORT THEMSELVES AS BOTH WHITE AND AMERICAN INDIAN OR BLACK, ASIAN, AND HAWAIIAN.
THEN THERE'S A NUMBER FOR PERSONS WHO REPORT AS HISPANIC AND ETHNICITY OF HISPANIC, OR NON-HISPANIC ULTIMATELY FOR GOOCHLAND.
WE ARE REPORTING OUT THE DEMOGRAPHIC CATEGORIES THAT REPRESENT AT LEAST 2% OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY, AND THAT IS WHITE, BLACK, HISPANIC, AND ASIAN, AND ALL OTHER CATEGORIES ARE TOTALED UNDER OTHER.
NOW THE COUNTY'S WHITE POPULATION GREW IN NUMBER FROM 2010 TO 2020, BUT THE PERCENTAGE REMAINED FAIRLY STABLE.
AND TODAY IT'S 78.1% OVERALL, THE COUNTIES, GOD BLESS YOU.
OVERALL, THE COUNTY'S POPULATION OF RESIDENTS IDENTIFYING AS BLACK DECREASED TO 13.2% FROM THE 19% THAT WAS REPORTED IN 2010, BUT THERE ARE ANOTHER 312 RESIDENTS WHO REPORTED IN A MULTI-RACIAL THAT INCLUDED BLACK, LIKE BLACK, ASIAN, OR BLACK HAWAIIAN, INCLUDING THOSE IN THE TOTAL OF BLACK RESIDENTS WOULD INCREASE THIS BY ABOUT 1% TO 14.47%.
FROM THAT 13.2, HOWEVER, GIVEN THE GREATER DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN, IT MAY BE MORE USEFUL
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TO LOOK AT THE TOTAL NON-WHITE RESIDENTS IN GOOCHLAND.AND THAT REVEALS THAT IN THE 2020 CENSUS, UH, 21.9% OF GOOCHLAND RESIDENTS IDENTIFIED AS NONWHITE.
AND SO BETWEEN 2010 AND 2020, THE NONWHITE POPULATION REMAINED FAIRLY STEADY AT ABOUT 22%.
NOW THE SINGLE LARGEST MINORITY CATEGORY IS RESIDENTS WHO IDENTIFY AS BLACK AND LET'S LOOK AT THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS.
THIS IS THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR THE DISTRICTS AS THEY WERE CREATED IN 2010, BUT WITH THE 2020 POPULATION.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, BEFORE REDISTRICTING THE DISTRICT WITH THE HIGHEST POPULATION OF BLACK RESIDENTS BEFORE REDISTRICTING IS DISTRICT TWO, WHICH HAD ABOUT 23% OF ITS POPULATION, IT CIRCLED THERE IN THE RED, BUT ALSO BEFORE WE DISTRICTING THE DISTRICT WITH THE LOWEST POPULATION OF BLACK RESIDENTS IS DISTRICT FIVE CIRCLED IN BLUE IT'S RESIDENTS WERE ONLY ABOUT 6.6% OF ITS POPULATION.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN A DISTRICT IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY IN WHICH A MINORITY POPULATION HAS BEEN A MAJORITY OF THE DISTRICT FOR SEVERAL DECADES BECAUSE OF THE OVERALL LOW PERCENTAGE OF MINORITIES THAT LIVE IN THE COUNTY.
SO 19 91, 30 YEARS AGO IS THE LAST TIME THAT GOOCHLAND HAD A ELECTION DISTRICT WITH A MAJORITY OF A MINORITY POPULATION.
THIS DEMOGRAPHIC MAP CHART SHOWS YOU THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING DISTRICTS.
AGAIN, CIRCLED IN RED DISTRICT.
TWO REMAINS THE DISTRICT WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE AND NUMBER OF BLACK RESIDENTS AND DISTRICT FIVE REMAINS THE DISTRICT THAT HAS THE LOWEST NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF RESIDENTS WHO IDENTIFY AS BLACK DISTRICTS, ONE AND THREE CIRCLED HERE IN GREEN SHOW AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF THEIR BLACK RESIDENTS.
WHEREAS THE OTHER DISTRICTS REFLECTED DECLINE IN RESIDENTS WHO REPORT AS BLACK, BOTH IN NUMBER AND IN PERCENTAGE.
SO NOW WE'VE CREATED A PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP, BUT THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO OUR PROCESS, INCLUDING MEETINGS LIKE THE ONE WE'RE DOING TODAY, COMMUNITY INPUT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS HEARING FROM YOU, OUR RESIDENTS, THE COUNTY'S REDISTRICTING WEBSITE, AS I'VE MENTIONED, CONTAINS ALL OF THESE MAPS PLUS TABLES, TEXTS, AND NARRATIVE ABOUT THE PROCESS.
PUBLIC COMMENTS CAN BE ON THE REDISTRICTING WEBSITE.
THE VIRGINIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT REQUIRES THAT GOOCHLAND TAKE, UH, PUBLIC COMMENTS ON A PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP FOR AT LEAST 30 DAYS.
BUT THE COUNTY HAS DECIDED TO TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT THROUGH FEBRUARY 1ST, SLIGHTLY LONGER THAN THAT 30 DAYS, BECAUSE WE KNOW THE HOLIDAYS, UM, WOULD, MIGHT HAVE INTERFERED WITH RESIDENTS PAYING ATTENTION TO THE REDISTRICTING MAP WHEN IT WAS FIRST POSTED.
AND THEN HEAVEN FORBID WE HAD THAT TERRIBLE WEATHER EVENT LAST WEEK, UM, THAT WOULD PUT IF IT HAD AN IMPACT ON FOLKS, WE ALSO WERE TAKING EMAIL COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS TO THIS, UM, ADDRESS.
WE ARE NOW IN A COMMUNITY MEETING.
THIS WAS THE ORIGINAL SCHEDULE OF COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
WE HAD PLANNED FIVE, BUT OUR FIRST TWO MEETINGS OCCURRED LAST WEDNESDAY.
WELL, MANY COUNTY RESIDENTS WERE STILL WORRIED ABOUT CLEARING ROADWAYS AND GETTING POWER BACK.
SO WE HAVE IN FACT, ADJUSTED OUR MEETING SCHEDULE, ADDING TODAY'S AFTERNOON MEETING AS WELL AS ANOTHER EVENING SESSION NEXT WEEK ON JANUARY 19TH.
SO WE'RE BACK UP TO A TOTAL OF SEVEN COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
NOW RESIDENTS CAN COME TO ANY MEETING.
THEY ARE NOT DISTRICT SPECIFIC.
I'M COVERING THE SAME INFORMATION IN EVERY MEETING.
AND EACH MEETING ALSO IS AVAILABLE VIA ZOOM SO THAT PEOPLE WHO AREN'T ABLE OR INTERESTED IN LEAVING THEIR HOUSE CAN PARTICIPATE AND RECEIVE THE SAME INFORMATION.
SO THERE'S THE ZOOM INFORMATION THAT'S AVAILABLE.
WHAT WE ARE THEN DOING IS BEING TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS THAT WE'RE RECEIVING FROM OUR RESIDENTS.
I MENTIONED THAT PUBLIC COMMENTS CAN BE MADE ON THE WEBSITE.
SO THOSE ARE VISIBLE TO ALL WHEN THEY ARE MADE EMAILS THAT WE RECEIVE ARE BEING SCANNED AND POSTED TO THE WEBSITE.
THOUGH, WE WILL REDACT THE EMAIL ADDRESS OF ANY PERSON WHO SENDS US AN EMAIL AND THEN TRANSCRIPTS OF THE PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS WILL BE POSTED FROM EACH OF OUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
WHAT WE WANT IS FOR ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS TO KNOW WHAT IS BEING SAID, ASKED AND PROPOSED ABOUT REGARDING REDISTRICTING.
WE'RE ALSO CREATING A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION DOCUMENT, AND IT WILL BE POSTED TO THE WEBSITE IN THE NEXT REDISTRICTING WEBSITE.
IN THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS, WE ARE TAKING ALL THE PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM
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OUR RESIDENTS THROUGH, AS I MENTIONED FEBRUARY 1ST.SO THEN WHAT HAPPENS THE END OF THE PUBLIC COMMENTS STAFF WILL REVIEW AND SUMMARIZE THE PUBLIC COMMENTS AND PRESENT THOSE TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AT A SPECIAL MEETING ON FEBRUARY 26, STARTING AT SIX O'CLOCK.
IF THERE ARE VISIONS THAT SHOULD BE MADE, COUNTY STAFF WILL BE PRESENTING THOSE TO THE BOARD AS WELL.
AND THE BOARD CAN MAKE A DECISION WHETHER OR NOT THOSE PROPOSED REVISIONS SHOULD BE MADE, BECAUSE IF THEY'RE ALREADY CHANGES MADE, THEN A REVISED REDISTRICTING MAP WILL BE CREATED AND POSTED ON THE COUNTY WEBSITE THAT REVISED REDISTRICTING MAP WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT FOR 15 DAYS, A PROCESS THAT COMPLIES WITH THE VIRGINIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
ULTIMATELY THOUGH WE HAVE SCHEDULED A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE FINAL REDISTRICTING MAP AND ORDINANCE.
AND THAT WILL OCCUR ON MARCH 15TH AT SIX O'CLOCK THE MAP AND THE ORDINANCE WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE 30 DAYS AFTER ADOPTION, WHICH IS TAX DAY, APRIL 15TH.
THAT MAY SOUND LIKE WE'RE GETTING THINGS DONE WELL IN ADVANCE OF ANY ELECTION ISSUES, BUT OUR GENERAL REGISTRAR WOULD WANT EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND THAT RIGHT NOW, ABSENTEE VOTING FOR THE JUNE 21ST PRIMARY WOULD BE SCHEDULED TO START ON MAY 6TH, JUST A FEW WEEKS AFTER WE WOULD FINISH OUR, HAVE OUR MAT BE EFFECTIVE.
WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE IN THE ROOM THIS AFTERNOON TO ASK QUESTIONS, BUT WE ARE HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS FROM THE FOLKS ON ZOOM.
IF YOU ARE PARTICIPATING BY PHONE THAT'S STAR NINE AND BY COMPUTER, YOU CAN USE YOUR RAISE HAND BUTTON.
I JUST ASK THAT YOU PLEASE TURN DOWN OR OFF YOUR SPEAKER AND THAT YOU GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS.
AND, UM, BEFORE YOU ASK YOUR QUESTION AND WE'LL, WE'LL DO OUR VERY BEST TO ANSWER IT.
WARREN, IS THERE ANYONE ON ZOOM WHO IS RAISING THEIR HAND WITH A QUESTION OR COMMENT? WE CAN GIVE THAT JUST ANOTHER COUPLE OF, DO WE HAVE ANYONE STILL ON ZOOM? YES.
UM, LET'S GIVE US THAT A COULD JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES IN CASE SOMEONE'S STILL STUMBLING, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER THEY NEED TO USE STAR NINE OR WHERE THE RAISE HAND BUTTON IS.
UM, AND THEN IF WE DON'T SEE ANYONE WHO DOES HAVE A QUESTION, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CONCLUDE THIS AFTERNOON'S MEETING.
HOW MANY FOLKS DO WE HAVE ON ZOOM WARREN? OKAY.
WELL, I WILL ASSUME THAT THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE ZOOMING IN WITH US, UM, MAY CHOOSE TO PUT THEIR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS TO ONE OF THE OTHERS, UH, FORMATS, BUT WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THEIR PARTICIPATING IN THE COUNTY'S REDISTRICTING PROCESS AND THAT THEY CAN USE IT IN ANY NUMBER OF METHODS TO PROVIDE US INPUT.
SHOULD THEY SO CHOOSE AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.