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FINISHING UP AND I'M TAKING A SEAT.CAUSE I'M JUST GOING TO START BY ASKING OUR ZOOM FOLKS TO CONFIRM THAT THEY CAN GET THE AUDIO.
SO AGAIN, TAKE A MINUTE TO DO IT IS FINE, BUT UH, IF ANY, ONE OF THE PEOPLE ON ZOOM WOULD PLEASE RAISE THEIR HAND EITHER BY USING STAR NINE, IF YOU'RE ON YOUR PHONE OR BY HITTING THE, RAISE YOUR HAND BUTTON ON THE COMPUTER, THEN WE CAN BE SURE THAT YOU'RE GETTING THE AUDIO FROM TONIGHT'S MEETING THAT WOULD MAKE US FEEL BETTER.
THAT LITTLE PIECE OF HOUSEKEEPING OUT OF THE WAY.
I AM GOODWILL AND COUNTY ATTORNEY TARA MCGEE.
AND I'M HERE TODAY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE COUNTY'S ELECTION DISTRICT, REDISTRICTING,
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UM, MEMBERS OF THE, UH, UH, COMMUNITY THAT ARE IN THE ROOM.YOU ARE WELCOME TO ASK A QUESTION AT ANY TIME DURING THE PRESENTATION.
IF YOU WOULD JUST RAISE YOUR HAND, I NEED YOU TO COME UP AND STAND AT THE MICROPHONE TO ASK YOUR QUESTION BECAUSE WE ARE CREATING A TRANSCRIPT OF THE QUESTIONS, ASKED, UM, AND TRYING TO, AND, AND RESPONDED TO, AND THAT CAN ONLY BE DONE IF WE'RE USING THE MICROPHONE.
SO FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS, BUT WE'LL JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THEM ON THE RECORDING.
THEN PRESIDENTS WHO HEAR THE WORD REDISTRICTING.
LET ME HIT YOU THINK OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE ZONES.
IN FACT, AT A MEETING EARLIER TODAY, DR.
BAILEY WAS TALKING ABOUT IN THE FUTURE, THEY WILL BE DOING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL REDISTRICTING, BUT TONIGHT WHAT WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT IS ELECTION DISTRICT REDISTRICTING BASED ON THE 2020 CENSUS HAS TO DO WITH THE VOTING AND NOT WITH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE ZONES.
REDISTRICTING IS THE PROCESS OF DRAWING NEW ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARIES.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONDUCTS A CENSUS EVERY DECADE TO COUNT THE U S POPULATION AND THEN CHANGES ARE MADE TO THE ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARIES AT THE FEDERAL STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL.
AND WHILE WE ARE IMPACTED BY FEDERAL AND STATE ELECTION DISTRICT CHANGES, OUR PROCESS IS TO BE MAKING THE LOCAL LEVEL.
REDISTRICTING CHANGES, MAYBE DISTRICT BECAUSE POPULATION CHANGES ON EVENLY AND THAT CREATES UNEQUAL POPULATION IN ELECTION DISTRICTS, EQUAL POPULATION IS WHAT'S DESIRED TO SUPPORT OUR CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT FOR ONE PERSON'S VOTE COUNTING EQUALLY AS SOMEONE ELSE'S.
AND SO REDISTRICTING IS SIMPLY THE PROCESS BY WHICH WE REDRAW ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARIES TO EQUALIZE THE VOTING NUMBERS OF POPULATION.
EXCUSE ME, IN EACH, THIS FIRST MAP IS GOOCHLAND COUNTY'S CURRENT ELECTION DISTRICTS THAT WERE CREATED AFTER THE 2010 CENSUS AND THE COUNTY THEN HAD A POPULATION OF JUST UNDER 22,000 RESIDENTS.
AT THAT TIME, THESE FIVE DISTRICTS WERE BROKEN INTO RESIDENTS OF ABOUT 4,300 IN EACH DISTRICT TO BE ROUGHLY EQUAL AT THAT TIME.
AND AS MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS KNOW FROM THESE FIVE LOCAL ELECTION DISTRICTS, YOU VOTE FOR A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND THE SCHOOL BOARD.
NOW THIS MAP SHOWS THOSE SAME 2010 DISTRICT BOUNDARIES, BUT IT HAS IN IT, THE 2020 CENSUS POPULATION TO SHOW WHAT THE POPULATIONS ARE NOW IN EACH DISTRICT.
AND I DO HAVE SOMETHING WHERE I'LL ZOOM IN AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN MORE DETAIL.
SINCE THIS MAP IS HARD TO LOOK AT IT THIS SIZE, WE DO HAVE IT AVAILABLE IN THE ROOM PHYSICALLY TO REVIEW AND ALL THE MAPS I'LL BE GOING THROUGH TONIGHT ARE AVAILABLE IN THE COUNTY'S REDISTRICTING WEBSITE.
KAY GOODSON COUNTIES POPULATION INCREASED BY ABOUT 12% IN THE LAST DECADE.
AND THE TOTAL POPULATION IN GOOCHLAND TODAY IS 24,727.
ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS BUREAU.
HOWEVER, WE DO NOT USE THE TOTAL POPULATION NUMBER FOR REDISTRICTING IN VIRGINIA.
VIRGINIA HAS A STATE LAW THAT REQUIRES US TO USE AN ADJUSTED POPULATION FIGURE TO DO REDISTRICTING.
THE DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES TAKES THE FOLKS WHO ARE PRISONERS IN STATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES AND REALLOCATES THEM BACK TO THEIR HOME DISTRICTS IN ORDER TO COME UP WITH THAT ADJUSTED POPULATION FIGURE.
SO GOODSON COUNTIES ADJUSTED POPULATION FIGURE IS 24,149.
AND THAT'LL REPRESENT ROUGHLY 4,800 RESIDENTS IN FIVE EQUAL DISTRICTS.
LET ME LEAVE THE MAP AND THE NUMBERS FOR A FEW MINUTES SO THAT I CAN GO THROUGH THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS AND THE CRITERIA THAT WE USED IN CREATING THE REDISTRICTING IN GOING THROUGH THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS, THERE ARE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS.
THE FIRST FOUR ARE REQUIRED BY THE STATE VIA FEDERAL CONSTITUTION AND FEDERAL LAW.
THIS IS THE PREDOMINANT GOAL OF ALL REDISTRICTING, AND THAT IS TO HAVE DISTRICTS SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL IN POPULATION.
AND BY CASE LAW SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL IN POPULATION MEANS PLUS OR MINUS 5% DEVIATION FROM THE STANDARD.
THE SECOND FEDERAL LEGAL REQUIREMENT IS THAT WE HAVE DISTRICTS THAT ARE CONTIGUOUS AND COMPACT, MEANING ADJACENT AND TOGETHER, NOT SPREAD OUT OR IN SEPARATE PIECES.
THE THIRD REQUIREMENT FROM ALSO FROM FEDERAL LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION IS THAT RACE CAN NOT BE A PREDOMINANT FACTOR IN A REDISTRICTING DECISION.
THAT MEANS BOTH THAT A DISTRICT CAN NOT BE DRAWN TO DILUTE THE NUMBER OF MINORITY VOTERS OR TO CONCENTRATE MINORITY VOTERS IN A DISTRICT.
THE FOURTH FEDERAL REQUIREMENT IS THAT YOUR DISTRICT BOUNDARIES HAVE TO BE CLEARLY OBSERVABLE BOUNDARIES FOR ALL DISTRICT LINES, PRECINCT LINES, AND SO FORTH.
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CLEARLY OBSERVABLE BOUNDARIES INCLUDES STREETS, ROADS, HIGHWAYS, CREEKS, AND RIVERS, AS IT TURNS OUT.WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU WONDER HOW WE GO THROUGH THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS IS NOT NECESSARILY THE CLEARLY OBSERVABLE BOUNDARIES, BUT ABOUT CENSUS BLOCKS BECAUSE EACH CENSUS BLOCK AND THESE ARE AREAS IDENTIFIED BY THE US FEDERAL CENSUS USES CLEARLY OBSERVABLE BOUNDARIES FOR ITS BOUNDARIES.
AND THEN WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS PUT TOGETHER CENSUS BLOCKS TO CREATE DISTRICT LINES.
LET ME EXPLAIN ABOUT THE CENSUS BLOCKS.
AND FIRST I'LL ORIENT YOU ON THIS MAP.
THE BIG TAN AREA IS PROPOSED NEW DISTRICT FOUR HERE IN BLUE TO THE LEFT.
THAT WOULD BE PROPOSED NEW DISTRICT THREE.
AND THE SALMON COLOR DOWN IN THE BOTTOM, RIGHT, IS PROPOSED NEW DISTRICT FIVE.
IT IS THE SMALL BLACK LINES ON THAT AREA THAT ARE CENSUS BLOCK BOUNDARIES.
AND SO IN THIS, YOU CAN SEE HERE IN DISTRICT FOUR, THAT THIS IS A SIGNIFICANTLY LARGE CENSUS BLOCK IN THIS AREA YET ADJACENT TO IT ARE SEVERAL VERY SMALL BLOCKS HERE.
AGAIN, GOODSON COUNTY DIDN'T DRAW THESE CENSUS BLOCKS.
THERE ARE 780 OF THEM THAT THE CENSUS BUREAU CREATED IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY.
AND WHEN WE WERE CREATING DISTRICTS, WHAT WE HAD TO DO WAS BUNDLED TOGETHER CENSUS BLOCKS, AND THAT'S HOW BOUNDARIES WERE CREATED.
EACH CENSUS BLOCK UP HAS THREE NUMBERS IN IT.
LET ME EXPLAIN WHAT THOSE ARE.
THE TOP IS A FOUR DIGIT NUMBER, AND THAT IS THE LAST FOUR DIGITS OF A 15 DIGIT IDENTIFIER FOR EACH CENSUS BLOCK.
SO WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM TO PUT 15 DIGITS PER BLOCK, BUT WE DID INCLUDE THE LAST FOUR OF, UH, THE CENSUS BLOCK IDENTIFIER.
THE NEXT NUMBER IS THE ADJUSTED POPULATION WITHIN THAT CENSUS BLOCK.
AND THAT COMES FROM THE CENSUS DATA.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO JOINED US, JUST A HAIR TOO LATE TO HEAR THIS, THE ADJUSTED POPULATION IS WHAT WE HAVE TO USE IN VIRGINIA TO DO REDISTRICTING.
AND ALL THAT IS, IS THE TOTAL POPULATION.
AND THEN THE STATE AGENCY HAS REALLOCATED FOLKS WHO ARE IN THE STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO THEIR HOME ADDRESSES.
AND SO THAT'S CHANGED OUR POPULATION SLIGHTLY AND THEY DID THAT ALL ACROSS VIRGINIA.
AND THAT'S THE NUMBER YOU USE FOR VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING? THE THIRD NUMBER IN EACH OF THESE LABELS IN THE CENSUS BLOCKS IS NOT A CENSUS NUMBER AT ALL.
IT IS THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN THAT CENSUS BLOCK.
AND THAT DATA COMES FROM OUR GENERAL REGISTRAR, A DATABASE UP-TO-DATE AS OF NOVEMBER OF THIS YEAR, EXCUSE ME, 2021.
IT WOULD JUST, JUST TURN THE CORNER INTO 2022.
SO THAT'S NOT CENSUS INFORMATION AND IT IS REGISTERED VOTER DATA AS OF ALMOST A YEAR AND A HALF AFTER THE CENSUS DATA WAS PROBABLY ACCUMULATED BECAUSE WE TEND TO THINK THAT THAT DATA WAS ACCUMULATED BY APRIL OF 2020, UM, FOR THE 2020 CENSUS.
LET ME JUST ALSO SHOW YOU THESE SMALL SHADED AREAS HERE AND YOU'LL SEE THEM ALL ACROSS OUR MAPS.
THOSE ARE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF SHADING AROUND SUBDIVISION PLATS IN THE COUNTY.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE AS I GO THROUGH THE CRITERIA, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE WERE TRYING TO KEEP RESIDENTS IN THE SAME SUB DEFICIENT IN THE SAME VOTING DISTRICT.
AND FINALLY, I CAN POINT OUT ONE OTHER THING ON THIS MAP, THIS GREEN LINE, UM, THAT IS THE VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES BOUNDARY BETWEEN DISTRICTS 56 AND 57.
THIS IS THE NEWLY APPROVED DISTRICTS THAT THE VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT APPROVED IN DECEMBER.
THIS IS THE ONLY STATE ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARY THAT COMES THROUGH GOOCHLAND AND IT BY SEXIST, UM, IN THIS AREA, YOU'LL SEE IT AS YOU, AS I SHOWED YOU THE, THE MORE DETAILED MAPS.
SO THIS JUST IS TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA THAT WHEN WE'RE REDISTRICTING, WE'RE NOT JUST DRAWING LINES ON A MAP.
WHAT WE ARE DOING IS BUNDLING TOGETHER SINCE THIS BLOCKS AND, UM, TRYING TO REACH THE RIGHT POPULATION NUMBERS.
THEY ILLEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ELECTION DISTRICTS BY TELLING YOU ABOUT A STATE LAW FOR VIRGINIA, WHICH IS THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO CONSIDER WHERE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARY LINES ARE DRAWN.
AND WHILE THAT IS ONE OF THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS HERE, IT IS PERHAPS BETTER EXPLAINED AS I GO THROUGH THE PRECINCT AND POLAND PLACE, LEGAL REQUIREMENTS.
NOW PRECINCTS ARE THE SUB-DISTRICTS WITHIN AN ELECTION DISTRICT.
UM, WE HAVE TWO PRECINCTS IN EACH OF OUR FIVE ELECTION DISTRICTS IN GOOCHLAND TODAY.
THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP CONTINUES THAT WITH TWO DISTRICT PRECINCTS IN
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EACH PRECINCT, EXCUSE ME, TWO PRECINCTS IN EACH DISTRICT PRECINCT REQUIREMENTS WHEN THEY ARE CREATED, ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO HAVE BETWEEN 105,000 REGISTERED VOTERS IN EACH.UH, NUMBER EIGHT IS WHAT I WAS JUST REFERRING TO ABOUT THE STATE ELECTION BOUNDARIES BY VIRGINIA LAW PRECINCTS MUST BE WHOLLY CONTAINED WITHIN ONE FEDERAL AND ONE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT.
THEY CAN NOT BE SPLIT BY A STATE ELECTION DISTRICT LINE OR A FEDERAL ELECTION DISTRICT LINE.
IN ADDITION TO ALL THOSE LEGAL CRITERIA, WHICH ARE REQUIRED, THE GOOCHLAND BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CONSIDERED ADDITIONAL CRITERIA THAT ARE LEGALLY ALLOWABLE, BUT NOT REQUIRED.
AND THEY DIRECTED STAFF TO FOLLOW THE ITEMS ON THIS SLIDE FIRST TO MOVE THE FEWEST NUMBER OF VOTERS IN ORDER TO HAVE THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF DISRUPTION TO OUR VOTERS IN GOOCHLAND, AND TO ATTAIN THE SAME BASIC SHAPE OF GOOCHLAND DISTRICTS AND NUMBER 12, TO KEEP FOLKS IN THE SAME SUBDIVISION AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE VOTING IN THE SAME ELECTION DISTRICT, BECAUSE NEIGHBORS TEND TO BELIEVE THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE THE SAME CHOICES FOR CANDIDATES.
AND THAT MINIMIZES A LOT OF CONFUSION.
NUMBER 13 ON THIS LIST IS STRUCK THROUGH.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE WHEN WE PRESENTED THESE CRITERIA TO THE BOARD, WE LET THEM KNOW THAT WE WERE LEGALLY ALLOWED TO SAVE THERE AS THAT THEIR SPOTS AS INCUMBENCY TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT THE PERSON WHO CURRENTLY REPRESENTS A DISTRICT B STAY WITHIN THAT DISTRICT AS WE REDISTRICT AND OUR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DIRECTED US NOT TO CONSIDER THAT TO NOT HAVE A POLITICAL PROCESS OR INCUMBENCY FACTOR INTO OUR DECISION AT ALL.
AND SO IT DID NOT, UM, THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS, UM, TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF AN IDEA OF, AGAIN, THE MAPS, THE NUMBERS ARE COMING AT PROMISE.
LET ME JUST START BY SAYING THAT, ALTHOUGH I AM BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING, I REPRESENTS THE REDISTRICTING TEAM FOR GOOCHLAND COUNTY LED BY OUR INTERIM COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, UH, MANWELL ADMIRAL ALVAREZ, UH, AS WELL AS DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, JOANNE HUNTER, OUR GENERAL REGISTRAR, RYAN MULLIGAN, AND OUR GIS STAFF WITH JONATHAN WORLEY AND DIVYA GEORGE.
THESE FOLKS ARE EITHER HERE THIS EVENING, OR PARTICIPATING BY ZOOM AND HAVE ATTENDED ALL OF THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
WHAT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU UNDERSTAND IS THAT WE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY THAT PARTICIPATED IN, WORKED ON THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP.
AND AGAIN, JUST TO EMPHASIZE THAT NO MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, THE SCHOOL BOARD, OR EVEN THE ELECTORAL BOARD WAS PROVIDED ANY INPUT INTO THE MAP, UM, OR FRANKLY KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT IT UNTIL IT WAS POSTED.
BUT I'LL TAKE YOU BACK TO WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
AND THAT IS THE MAP OF OUR CURRENT ELECTION DISTRICTS WITH THE 2020 POPULATION HERE IS THE SLIDE THAT LETS YOU KNOW, WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF THOSE DISTRICTS AND THE POPULATION NUMBERS THAT IS FOR EACH DISTRICT, THE ADJUSTED POPULATION, THEN THE TARGET, IF WE WERE TO HAVE EXACTLY EQUAL DISTRICTS.
AND THEN IT TELLS YOU HOW FAR FROM THAT TARGET EACH DISTRICT IS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT THE MAJOR AMOUNT OF CHANGES THAT NEEDED TO OCCUR IN OUR ELECTION DISTRICTS WERE IN THE CENTRAL AND MOST EASTERN DISTRICTS.
AND THEN WHAT DID WE DO NEXT? I'LL TELL YOU THAT THE FIRST THING WE DID IS WE ALLOWED THE SOFTWARE TO START THE WORK WE'VE PUT IN THE FIRST FIVE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS THAT I HAD ON THAT FIRST SLIDE AND TOLD THE SOFTWARE, OKAY, KURT, YOU KNOW, GIVE US OUR NEW ELECTION OF REDISTRICTING MAP WHERE THEN SAT, BUT THAT MAP THE ENTIRE TEAM AND WE MADE ADJUSTMENTS, THOSE ADJUSTMENTS WERE BASED ON THE BOARD'S APPROVED CRITERIA.
AND AS I GO THROUGH, YOU'LL HEAR THAT MOST OFTEN THAT WAS TRYING TO KEEP SUBDIVISION ADDRESSES IN THE SAME DISTRICT.
AND WE FINALLY, WE VIEWED THE PRECINCT LEGAL REQUIREMENTS AND THE DREW PRECINCT LINES AND WE IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL POLLING PLACES.
ALL OF THAT RESULTED IN THIS, WHICH IS THE COUNTY HAS PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO POST THAT ON THE COUNTY'S REDISTRICTING WEBSITE ON DECEMBER 17TH.
SO IT'S BEEN AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR OVER A MONTH.
NOW, NOW AGAIN, THE, THE MAPS PRESENT IN THE ROOM AND YOU CAN LOOK AT IT ON THE WEBSITE, BUT PROBABLY MORE IMPORTANT ARE CHARTS LIKE THIS, THAT BREAK IT DOWN WITH SPECIFIC INFORMATION.
THIS IS THAT SAME CHART WITH INFORMATION FROM NOW, FROM THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP, EACH DISTRICTS ADJUSTED POPULATION, WHAT THAT TARGET EQUAL POPULATION WOULD BE A NUMERIC DIFFERENCE FROM THAT GOAL.
AND THEN ON THIS SLIDE, WE'VE ADDED THE PERCENTAGE PLUS OR MINUS THAT THAT IS A DEVIATION AND THAT'S SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT AS TO EVERY DISTRICT WE ARE WITHIN THE PLUS OR MINUS 5%, WHICH IS LEGALLY REQUIRED.
BUT I'M NOW GOING TO GO THROUGH EACH DISTRICT INDIVIDUALLY TO SHOW YOU A DISTRICT SPECIFIC MAP AND ALSO SHOWS YOU THE SHADING FOR THE PRECINCTS.
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BECAUSE MOST OF THE CHANGE HAD TO OCCUR IN EASTERN GOOCHLAND.WE ACTUALLY STARTED OUR PROCESS WITH PROPOSED DISTRICT FIVE.
AND ON THIS MAP, THE DARKER SHADING TO THE LEFT SHOWS YOU PRECINCT 5 0 1 WITH THE LIGHTER SHADING ON THE RIGHT BEING 5 0 2 DISTRICT FIVE NEEDED TO DECREASE ITS POPULATION BY 768 RESIDENTS.
NOW, IF YOU LOOK THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN BOUNDARIES OF THIS DISTRICT, FOLLOW THE COUNTIES BORDERS, WE THEN NEEDED TO RETAIN THE WESTERN BORDER WITH A DISTRICT THREE.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE THE STATE HOUSE OF DELEGATES LINE COMES THROUGH BETWEEN ELECTION DISTRICTS, 56 AND 57, AGAIN, ESTABLISHED BY THE STATE THAT YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THE GREEN LINE HERE.
SO IN ORDER TO NOT CREATE A SITUATION WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A SPLIT PRECINCT IN A DISTRICT FIVE, WE CHOSE TO KEEP THAT AS A BORDER.
THAT MEANT THAT WE HAD TO MAKE ALL THE CHANGES WE NEEDED FOR 768 RESIDENTS TO, UH, TO BE DECREASED ON THE BORDER BETWEEN DISTRICT FOUR AND FIVE.
THERE WERE ESSENTIALLY THREE CHANGES THAT WERE MADE ALONG THAT BORDER.
SOME CENSUS BLOCKS WERE MOVED INTO DISTRICT FOUR IN ORDER TO KEEP ALL OF THE KINLOCH SUBDIVISION TOGETHER.
THE GROWTH OVER THE YEARS IN THE PAST DECADE HAD CAUSED KINLOCK TO BE SPLIT BETWEEN DISTRICT FOUR AND DISTRICT FIVE.
WE ALSO MOVED SOME CENSUS BLOCKS FROM DISTRICT FOUR TO DISTRICT FIVE BECAUSE THERE'S A NEW SUBDIVISION NOW, THE MOSAIC SUBDIVISION.
AND WE WANTED TO KEEP THAT SUBDIVISION ADDRESSES TOGETHER AND THEY WERE SPLIT BY THE PRIOR DISTRICT LINES.
AND THEN FINALLY, EAST OF 2 88 AND THE BORDER OF THE COUNTY ONE CENSUS BLOCK WAS A CHANCE FOR, FROM D FIVE TO D FOUR.
AND THAT WAS FRANKLY, JUST TO END UP WITH THE RIGHT NUMBERS FOR THE POPULATION.
AND WHEN I SAY WITH THE RIGHT NUMBERS, AGAIN, HERE'S THE DATA ABOUT PROPOSED DISTRICT FIVE.
YOU CAN SEE THE ADJUSTED POPULATION THAT, THAT IT IS WITHIN PLUS OR MINUS 5% AS IS LEGALLY REQUIRED.
AND HERE YOU GET THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE ALMOST EQUAL.
ALTHOUGH WE ARE LEGALLY ALLOWED TO ESTABLISH A PRECINCT WITH BETWEEN 105,000 VOTERS, THE BETTER PROCESS FOR ELECTION AND THE BETTER, MORE CONVENIENT POLLING PLACES FOR VOTERS IS TO HAVE ROUGHLY EQUAL PRECINCTS SO THAT THEY BOTH HAVE THE SAME NUMBERS OF VOTERS BEING SERVICED SO THAT WE DID MAKE THAT A GOAL FOR CREATING PRECINCTS.
ALTHOUGH, AGAIN, THAT'S NOT THE LEGAL REQUIREMENT AND WE WERE ABLE TO MEET THAT GOAL AND ALL, BUT ONE OF THE ELECTION DISTRICTS I HAVE CALLED THE POLLING PLACES, UH, PROPOSED POLLING PLACES BECAUSE ONCE THEY'VE BEEN IDENTIFIED, WE NEED TO REACH OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT THE FOLKS, PLACES NOT OWNED BY GOOCHLAND COUNTY ARE WILLING TO SERVE AS POLLING PLACES.
AND THIS SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE THAT BOTH OF THESE PLACES ARE CURRENT POLLING PLACES FOR GOOCHLAND COUNTY.
THIS IS NOW PROPOSED DISTRICT FOUR, AGAIN, THE SHADING.
SO PRECINCT 4 0 1 ON THE LEFT AND 4 0 2 ON THE RIGHT DISTRICT, FOUR NEEDED TO DECREASE ITS POPULATION BY 1009 RESIDENTS.
IT'S NORTHERN AND EASTERN BOUNDARIES FOLLOW THE COUNTY BORDERS.
SO WE ENDED UP MOVING DISTRICT FOUR WESTERN BOUNDARY, WHICH USED TO BE WEST OF OILVILLE ALL THE WAY EAST TO SHALLOW WELL ROAD.
AND THE REASON THAT IS, IS NOT ONLY TO DECREASE WHAT DISTRICT FOUR HELD, BUT ALSO BECAUSE DISTRICT THREE NEEDED TO ACQUIRE, UH, OVER 1200 RESIDENTS, AS WELL AS IT NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO SHIFT ANOTHER 500 RESIDENTS TO THE WEST, UM, TO, IN ORDER TO RE PROVIDE NUMBERS IN DISTRICTS ONE AND TWO, I DID JUST DESCRIBE THE CHANGES WE MADE IN THE BORDERS BETWEEN FOUR AND FIVE, WITH RESPECT TO KEN LOCKE, MOSAIC, AND THE OTHER SUBDIVISION BLOCK.
THE PRECINCT BOUNDARY IN DISTRICT FOUR, AGAIN, IS A GREEN LINE.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE IN DISTRICT FOUR, SINCE IT IS BISECTED BY THE STATE HOUSE OF DELEGATES DISTRICT LINE, BETWEEN 56 AND 57, WE CHOSE IT TO BE OUR PRECINCT BOUNDARY.
SO AS NOT TO CREATE ANY SPLIT PRECINCTS, WHICH WE'RE NOT LEGALLY ALLOWED TO DO.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DATA FOR PROPOSED DISTRICT FOUR, YOU CAN SEE WELL WITHIN THE PLUS AND MINUS OF ADJUSTED POPULATION, BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE IS A DISPARITY BETWEEN THE NUMBERS OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN PRECINCT 4 0 1 VERSUS FORA TWO.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE WE USE THE STATE HOUSE OF DELEGATES BOUNDARY FOR OUR PRECINCT DIVISION.
IT'S POSSIBLE THAT SO BOTH OF THESE PRECINCTS ARE WITHIN THE LEGALLY REQUIRED, UH, NUMBERS.
HOWEVER, I WILL TELL YOU THAT IT'S BEEN
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THE PRACTICE OF GOOCHLAND ELECTORAL BOARD IN THE PAST THAT IF A PRECINCT HAD MORE THAN 3000 REGISTERED VOTERS, THEY WOULD TRY AND CREATE AN ADDITIONAL PRECINCT.AND THAT MAY BE A REQUEST THAT WE RECEIVE FROM THEM IN PROPOSED DISTRICT FOR IT.
WE DIDN'T DO IT IN REDISTRICTING BECAUSE THE DISTRICTS ARE LEGAL.
AND BECAUSE THAT IS MORE OF AN ELECTORAL BOARD DECISION AND BECAUSE FRANKLY, ADDITIONAL PRECINCT AND POLLING PLACE COSTS ADDITIONAL MONEY, THAT'S NOT BE NOT REIMBURSED BY THE STATE, UH, IN FULL.
THEN WE MOVE ON TO PROPOSE DISTRICT THREE AND PROPOSED DISTRICT THREE SHOWING AGAIN, PRECINCT 3 0 1 ON THE LEFT AND 3 0 2 AND THE SHADING ON THE RIGHT, IT HAD THE LARGEST NEED OF ANY, FOR CHANGE OF ANY DISTRICT.
IT NEEDED TO GAIN A 1,231 RESIDENTS.
AND AS I SAID, THERE'S ALSO 500 RESIDENTS THAT HAD TO SHIFT INTO TWO AND ONE, AS WE WENT EAST AS WEST, EXCUSE ME, DISTRICT THREE GOES TO THE NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE COUNTY.
AND SO IT'S NORTHERN SOUTHERN BOUNDARIES ARE AT THE COUNTY BORDERS.
UH, TO ME AT THE APPROPRIATE POPULATION, THERE WAS ACTUALLY SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN DISTRICT THREES, BOTH EASTERN AND WESTERN BOUNDARIES.
I DESCRIBED TO YOU A MINUTE AGO, THE DISTRICT THREES, A BOUNDARY WITH FOUR MOVED ALL THE WAY EAST TO SHALLOW WELL ROAD, DISTRICT THREE IS BOUNDARY WITH FIVE.
I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED STATE EXACTLY THE SAME BECAUSE OF THE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT LINE.
THAT GOES, THAT WAY, GOES THROUGH THEIR DISTRICT.
THREE IS WESTERN BOUNDARY PROPOSED NOW FOLLOWS COURTHOUSE CREEK.
AND THAT CAUSES THE CORE OF COURTHOUSE VILLAGE TO MOVE INTO DISTRICT TWO.
THE CREEK WAS USED BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT ALL THE CENSUS BLOCKS THAT GO DOWN, THAT AREA USE AS THEIR BOUNDARY.
SO IT'S NOT BECAUSE WE DECIDED EVERYBODY WOULD KNOW WHERE THAT CREEK WAS AND THAT MADE IT EASIER.
BUT WHEN THAT'S WHAT WAS USED BY THE CENSUS BLOCKS, THEN THAT WAS OUR ONLY CHOICE TO USE.
I WILL LET YOU KNOW THAT ON THE NORTHWEST CORNER, UP IN THAT AREA, THERE WAS, UM, UM, CENSUS BLOCKS USED TO BE IN DISTRICT TWO.
AND THE REASON THEY WERE IN DISTRICT TWO IS BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE PREVIOUS STATE ELECTION DISTRICT CUT THROUGH GOOCHLAND COUNTY.
AND SO AGAIN, WE USE THAT AS A BORDER BETWEEN THE TWO DISTRICTS TO AVOID SPLIT PRECINCTS.
NOW THAT THE STATE HAS A DELEGATES BORDER DOES NOT GO THROUGH THERE.
WE ADDED THOSE CENSUS BLOCKS INTO DISTRICT THREE BECAUSE THAT THEN CREATES A MORE CONTIGUOUS AND COMPACT DISTRICT.
SO THAT LEFT US WITH THIS DATA FOR PROPOSED DISTRICT THREE AND ADJUSTED WITHIN THE PLUS OR MINUS 5% REGISTERED VOTERS, UM, THAT ARE NOT EXACTLY EQUAL, BUT RELATIVELY EQUAL.
AND THEN THIS HAS TWO NEW PROPOSED PRECINCTS, UH, EXCUSE ME, POLLING PLACES THAT BEING THE GOOCHLAND COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER, BECAUSE PUBLIC BUILDINGS ARE PREFERRED UNDER THE LAW FOR, UM, POLLING PLACES WHEN AVAILABLE AND RANDOLPH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WE HAD RECEIVED PERMISSION FROM THE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT TO USE SCHOOL BUILDINGS FOR ELECTION POLLING PLACES AND THE ASSURANCE THAT CHILDREN WOULD NOT BE IN SCHOOL ON ELECTION DAY.
SO THAT'S THE DATA WE HAVE ON THE DISTRICT WHERE WE MADE THE MOST CHANGES, UH, ELECTION DISTRICT THREE, AS WE MOVED FURTHER WEST TO PROPOSE DISTRICT TWO AGAIN, YOU'VE GOT THE PRECINCTS BEING SHOWN HERE WITH 2 0 1, THE DARKER SHADE AND 2 0 2, THE LIGHTER.
AND FOR ANYONE FAMILIAR WITH DISTRICT TWO, THOSE PRECINCTS LINES HAVE CHANGED CONSIDERABLY.
UH, DISTRICT TWO USED TO HAVE THE MOST UNEQUAL PRECINCT NUMBERS OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN EACH PRECINCT.
AND BY SWITCHING THIS, UM, LINE, MOVING IT AS FAR NORTH AS WE DID, WE WERE ABLE TO GET THAT MORE EQUAL, BUT LET ME TALK THEN SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE DISTRICT OVERALL, IT NEEDED TO GAIN 415 RESIDENTS TO GET TO THAT TARGET AND DISTRICT ONE NEEDED 132, OF COURSE, THE NORTH AND SOUTH BOUNDARIES FOLLOW THE COUNTY'S BORDERS.
AND I EXPLAINED HOW DISTRICT, UH, TOS EASTERN BOUNDARY NOW FOLLOWS COURTHOUSE CREEK, WHERE IT GOES WITH DISTRICT THREE.
SO LET ME EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED WITH RESPECT TO THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF DISTRICT TWO UP IN THIS AREA, WHAT I'LL CALL THE CEDAR PLAINS ROAD.
WE RAN INTO SEVERAL SUBDIVISIONS THAT WERE SPLIT BY CENSUS BLOCKS.
THOSE INCLUDED THE MEREDITH FARMS, SUBDIVISION RED EYE BLUFF AND BOWLING LANE PLACE.
AND SO WE ADJUSTED BETWEEN DISTRICTS ONE AND TWO TO TRY AND KEEP ALL THE ADDRESSES IN THOSE SUBDIVISIONS WITHIN THEIR OWN DISTRICT THAT CAUSED US TO HAVE MEREDITH FARMS FOLK GENERALLY IN DISTRICT ONE AND THE OTHER TWO SUBDIVISIONS.
WE WERE ABLE TO ALL PLACE IN DISTRICT TWO, I THINK WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TWO ADDRESSES, THAT THERE WERE SPLIT INTO A DIFFERENT CENSUS BLOCK AND WE COULD NOT MOVE IN.
AND THEN TO OBTAIN THAT APPROPRIATE POPULATION,
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THERE IS ONE DISH, ONE CENSUS BLOCK DOWN HERE THAT ACTUALLY MOVED FROM DISTRICT TWO OVER TO DISTRICT ONE.SO THERE'S THE DATA ON PROPOSED DISTRICT TWO.
YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S WITHIN THE PLUS OR MINUS OF 5% AND THAT THE REGISTERED VOTERS HERE REALLY ARE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL, WHICH WILL BE A MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE, UH, ELECTION PROCESS IN, UH, THE PRECINCTS FOR DISTRICT TWO.
THEN THERE IS ONE NEW PROPOSED, UM, EXCUSE ME, I THINK IT'S CORRECT.
THERE ARE TWO NEW PROPOSED, UH, POLLING PLACES.
CHIEF CORNERSTONE BAPTIST CHURCH HAS BEEN ASKED TO BE A POLLING PLACE AND THE COUNTY IS GOING TO USE ITS CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING IN THE, UM, MORE, UH, PRECINCT TO, UH, TO EXCUSE ME, UM, AS A POLLING PLACE THAT LEAVES US LAST, BUT NOT LEAST WITH PROPOSED DISTRICT ONE, IT NEEDED THE LEAST CHANGE IN POPULATION.
IT ONLY NEEDED TO GAIN 132 RESIDENTS.
AND OF COURSE, TALKING AT THE WEST CORNER OF THE COUNTY, MOST OF ITS BORDERS FOLLOW THE COUNTY BORDERS.
SO WE MADE THE CHANGE AS I'VE ALREADY EXPLAINED TO YOU, BUT CENSUS BLOCKS, UM, UP IN THAT CEDAR PLAINS AREA TO TRY AND KEEP SUBDIVISION RESIDENTS TOGETHER.
AND THEN THE CHANGE IN POPULATION WAS OBTAINED BY THE ONE BLOCK FURTHER DOWN THIS BORDER, WHERE IT WAS INCLUDED WITH ONE INSTEAD OF TWO, RIGHT DOWN THERE, YOUR DATA THEN FOR PROPOSED DISTRICT ONE, WE USUALLY WITHIN THE PLUS OR MINUS 3%, IT PROVIDES, UH, PRE RE REGISTERED VOTERS THAT ARE CLOSER TO EQUAL THAN THEY, UM, THAN THEY HAVE BEEN.
AND WE HAVE THE SAME POLLING PLACE FOR 1 0 2 THAT BEING THE GOOCHLAND COUNTY OWNED FIRE STATION SIX, BUT THE PROPOSED NEW POLLING PLACE FOR PRECINCT 1 0 1 OF BIRD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SINCE SCHOOL BUILDINGS WERE MADE AVAILABLE.
AND SO THOSE ARE THE DISTRICT BY DISTRICT CHANGES THAT WE'VE DONE IN ORDER TO COME UP WITH THE COUNTY'S PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP, DOING THE PROCESS OF REDISTRICTING STAFF DIDN'T REVIEW ANYTHING ABOUT THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA, BUT ONCE THE MAP WAS CREATED, WE DID REVIEW IT TO DETERMINE HOW THE INFORMATION WOULD LOOK WHEN WE ANALYZED IT.
I WILL TELL YOU THOUGH, THAT THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA IS BASED ON THE TOTAL POPULATION FROM THE CENSUS.
AND I TOLD YOU, WE DREW THE MAPS ON THE ADJUSTED POPULATION AND THAT'S REQUIRED BY LAW.
BUT WHEN THE STATE AGENCY REALLOCATED THE PRISONERS FROM THE PRISONS OUT TO THEIR HOME ADDRESSES, THEY DIDN'T PROVIDE SUFFICIENT DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR US TO BE ABLE TO THEN TRACK THOSE PRISONERS UP TO THERE BY DEMOGRAPHICS.
SO THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BASED ON GOOCHLAND TOTAL POPULATION, THOUGH.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE TWO NUMBERS IS LESS THAN 600 PEOPLE.
LET ME START WITH THE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FROM THE DECENNIAL CENSUS IN 2010, AT THAT TIME, THE CENSUS ONLY COLLECTED DEMOGRAPHIC DATA, ASKING PEOPLE WHETHER THEY REPORTED THEMSELVES AS WHITE, BLACK, OR OTHER.
SO THOSE ARE THE ONLY CATEGORIES THAT WE HAVE TO SHOW YOU AT THAT TIME.
THE COUNTY'S WHITE POPULATION WAS IDENTIFIED AT ABOUT 77.5%.
AND THEN IT HAD JUST OVER 19% WHO REPORTED AS BLACK, BUT ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF THIS SLIDE AND READ, I'VE INCLUDED SOME INFORMATION THAT IS A LITTLE EASIER WHEN WE GO TO COMPARE IT WITH 2020, AND THAT IS I'VE TOTALED UP THE NONWHITE CATEGORIES TO SHOW YOU THAT THE GOOCHLAND COUNTY 2010 CENSUS, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF FOLKS WHO REPORTED AS NONWHITE WERE ABOUT 22.5%.
AND THAT'S JUST GOING TO BE EASIER TO COMPARE.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE 2020 DEMOGRAPHIC DATA.
NOW, THE 2020 CENSUS, IT COLLECTED A LOT OF DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ABOUT OUR RESIDENTS.
THEY ALLOWED FOLKS TO REPORT IN RACIAL CATEGORIES THAT INCLUDED WHITE, BLACK, ASIAN, AMERICAN, INDIAN, AND HAWAIIAN, BUT IT THEN INCLUDED ANOTHER 50 MULTI-RACIAL CATEGORIES SO THAT PERSONS COULD IDENTIFY AS BOTH SAY, WHITE AND AMERICAN INDIAN, OR BLACK AND ASIAN.
THEN THERE IS A REPORTING FOR WHETHER THE ETHNICITY OF HISPANIC AND THEN THEY ACTUALLY GO THROUGH ALL THE OTHER RACIAL CATEGORIES AGAIN AND REPORT WHETHER OR NOT, UM, SOMEONE IDENTIFIES HIS HISPANIC.
SO WE ENDED UP WITH OVER A HUNDRED CATEGORIES OF DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHICS THAT FOLKS COULD IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS THAT WAS A BIT MUCH FOR ANY ONE SLIDE, BUT FOR GOOCHLAND, WE ARE REPORTING TO OUR RESIDENTS, THE DEMOGRAPHIC CATEGORIES THAT REPRESENT AT LEAST 2% OF OUR RESIDENTS.
AND THAT'S WHY YOU SEE ON OUR CHART, WHITE,
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BLACK, HISPANIC, AND ASIAN, AND ALL THE OTHERS ARE REPORTED IN THE CATEGORY OF HER.THE COUNTY'S WHITE POPULATION GREW IN NUMBER, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE, YOU CAN SEE THAT TODAY IT'S AT 78.1%.
AND THE NUMBER FROM 2010, YOU MAY RECALL WAS 77.5.
SO PERCENTAGE WISE, THAT NUMBERS REMAINED FAIRLY STEADY.
OVERALL, THE COUNTY'S POPULATION AT RENTED OF RESIDENTS IDENTIFYING AS BLACK DECREASED BY ALMOST A THOUSAND RESIDENTS USED TO BE 19% OF THE POPULATION IN 2010.
AND NOW IT'S ROUGHLY 13% OF THE COUNTY'S POPULATION, BUT KEEP IN MIND OF ALL THOSE CATEGORIES THAT WE REPORTED AS OTHER, THERE WERE OVER 300 RESIDENTS WHO REPORTED IN A MULTI-RACIAL CATEGORY THAT INCLUDED BLACK, LIKE BLACK, ASIAN, OR BLACK HAWAIIAN, INCLUDING ALL OF THOSE WOULD RAISE THE COUNTY'S BLACK POPULATION BY ABOUT ONE, ONE MORE PERCENT.
YOU'D BE JUST AT ABOUT 14 AND A HALF PERCENT.
BUT GIVEN THE DIFFERENCES IN HOW THE DATA WAS COLLECTED AGAIN, I REFER YOU TO THE INFORMATION IN THE BOTTOM, RIGHT? THE WHITE NUMBERS IN THE RED BRACKETS, BECAUSE IF YOU TOTAL ALL THE CATEGORIES OF NONWHITE, YOU'LL SEE HERE IN 2020, BUT IT'S 21.9%.
AND I'LL REMIND YOU THAT WE WERE AT ABOUT 22% IN 2010.
SO AGAIN, THAT DATA REFLECTS TO BE RELATIVELY THE SAME BY PERCENTAGE.
THE SINGLE LARGEST MINORITY REPORTED IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY IS RESIDENTS WHO IDENTIFY AS BLACK.
AND THEN I HAVE INFORMATION FOR YOU BY DISTRICT.
AND ALTHOUGH THESE CHARTS ARE ON THE REDISTRICTING WEBSITE FOR YOU TO REVIEW IN DETAIL, AND THERE'S ALSO A NARRATIVE YOU CAN READ ABOUT IT, LET ME SHOW YOU JUST SOME HIGHLIGHTS.
AND THAT IS FROM 2010 WITH OUR 2020 POPULATION, THE DISTRICT WITH THE HIGHEST POPULATION OF BLACK RESIDENTS BEFORE WE STARTED REDISTRICTING WAS DISTRICT TWO, BUT JUST OVER A THOUSAND RESIDENTS AND ABOUT 23% OF ITS POPULATION.
ALSO BEFORE WE DISTRICTING THE DISTRICT WITH THE LOW LOWEST POPULATION OF BLACK RESIDENTS WAS DISTRICT FIVE, WHICH HAD ABOUT 6.6% OF ITS POPULATION REPORTING AS BLACK.
I WANT TO NOTE FOR YOU NOW THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN ELECTION DISTRICT IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY THAT HAS HAD A MAJORITY OF RESIDENTS WHO IDENTIFY AS A MINORITY, PARTICULARLY BLACK, UM, FOR THREE DECADES.
THE LAST TIME THAT ONE WAS ABLE TO BE CREATED WAS FROM 1991, THAT REDISTRICTING.
AND THAT'S SIMPLY BECAUSE THE OVERALL NUMBERS OF MINORITIES LIVING IN THE COUNTY HAS DECREASED OVER THOSE YEARS.
AND SO WE'RE NOT ABLE TO CREATE A MAJORITY MINORITY DISTRICT IN KOSHLAND.
THIS IS THAT SAME CHART FOR THE PROPOSED ELECTION DISTRICTS DATA.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S A LOT TO TAKE IN FROM HERE.
SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS ARE THAT DISTRICT TWO STILL HAS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF RESIDENTS WHO IDENTIFY AS BLACK, JUST OVER 20%.
AND DISTRICT FIVE STILL HAS THE LOWEST NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF RESIDENTS WHO IDENTIFY AS BLACK, A LITTLE MORE THAN 5% AS YOU LOOK AT THE OTHER DISTRICTS DISTRICTS ONE AND THREE INCREASED BOTH IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF THEIR BLACK RESIDENTS WHILE THE OTHER DISTRICTS REFLECT A DECLINE.
AND THE RESIDENTS REPORTING AS BLACK, BOTH IN TERMS OF NUMBERS AND THE PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION.
SO WE'VE CREATED IN DECEMBER THAT PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP, BUT THAT WAS JUST THE START OF OUR PROCESS BECAUSE GOSHEN COUNTIES, REDISTRICTING PROCESS HAS TWIN GOALS OF PUBLIC INPUT AND TRANSPARENCY.
SO THE NEXT STEP THAT WE'RE ENGAGING IN IS TO TRY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE PROVIDE OUR RESIDENTS, OUR COMMUNITY WITH EVERY WAY POSSIBLE TO HAVE INPUT INTO GOOCHLAND COUNTIES, REDISTRICTING.
SO WE HAVE A WEBSITE SPECIFICALLY FOR REDISTRICTING, THE MAPS BEEN POSTED THERE FOR A MONTH, ALL THE TEXTS AND TABLES, ALL THE MAPS YOU SEE AROUND THIS ROOM ARE POSTED THERE.
IT ALSO HAS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SIMPLY PUT IN A PUBLIC COMMENT OR QUESTION ABOUT THE MAP.
IF YOU WANT IT TO SUGGEST, HEY, I'D LIKE TO SEE A CHANGE TO DISTRICT FOUR OR FIVE OR TWO OR ONE.
YOU COULD POST IT RIGHT THERE AND IT WOULD GET BACK TO THE REDISTRICTING TEAM.
WE ALSO HAVE A DEDICATED EMAIL FOR REDISTRICTING QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS, AND THOSE ARE BEING POSTED AS WELL.
WE DO REDACT SOMEBODY'S EMAIL ADDRESS BEFORE WE POST IT, BUT WE DO POST THAT INFORMATION.
ALL OF THE PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT WE'RE TAKING ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH FEBRUARY 1ST.
UM, SO THAT FOLKS HAVE WELL OVER A MONTH TO COMMENT.
UM, WE ORIGINALLY HAD PLANNED AN ADVERTISED FIVE COMMUNITY
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MEETINGS ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING, BUT OUR FIRST TWO MEETINGS OCCURRED THE WEDNESDAY OF SNOWMAGEDDON.AND SINCE THERE WERE WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE CONCERNED ABOUT HEAT AND LIGHT AND GETTING OUT ON THE ROADS, WE ADDED TWO ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.
THIS EVENING'S MEETING WAS ADDED AND THERE WAS AN ADDITIONAL AFTERNOON MEETING ADDED.
WE NOW HAVE AFTER TONIGHT ONLY ONE MORE MEETING TO BE HELD, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO HOLD TOMORROW.
EVENING'S MEETING AT SALEM BAPTIST CHURCH BECAUSE OF THE SNOW FORECAST.
AND SO WE JUST THINK IT MAKES SOME SENSE TO RESCHEDULE THAT PERHAPS TO A TIME NEXT WEEK OR IN THE NEXT 10 DAYS OR SO TO SOMEPLACE WHERE FOLKS MAY NOT BE WORRIED ABOUT TRAVELING ON THE ROADS.
SO WE WILL HAVE ONE MORE MEETING, BUT IT WON'T BE TOMORROW NIGHT AT SALEM BAPTIST CHURCH, EACH MEETING HAS COVERED THE EXACT SAME INFORMATION.
IT'S NOT BEEN DISTRICT SPECIFIC.
AND EACH MEETING WE'VE HAD HAS BEEN AVAILABLE VIA ZOOM FOR PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN, TO FOLLOW ALONG AS WELL AS TO ASK QUESTIONS.
AS I MENTIONED AT THE START OF THIS MEETING, WE'RE HAVING TRANSCRIPTS CREATED OF THE PUBLIC HUB COMMENT PORTION OF THE MEETING, AND WE'RE POSTING THOSE SO THAT YOU DIDN'T ATTEND THIS MEETING, BUT YOU CAN COME SEE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WAS ASKED AND WHAT ANSWERS WERE GIVEN.
SO THAT PEOPLE'S COMMENTS, EVEN IN THESE INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS ARE PUBLICLY SHARED.
THAT'S PART OF THE TRANSPARENCY THAT WE, THAT MATTERS TO US.
SO I THINK I'VE ALREADY TOLD YOU WHAT THIS SLIDE SAYS, WHICH IS ALL THE COMMENTS WE'VE RECEIVED ARE BEING SHARED PUBLICLY SO THAT SOMEONE CAN SIMPLY GET ON THEIR COMPUTER AND SEE WHAT'S BEING SAID AND ASKED ABOUT OUR REDISTRICTING PROCESS, THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, THOUGH, WE'LL END ON FEBRUARY 1ST.
AND WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP AT THAT POINT, STAFF'S GOING TO PRESENT THE PUBLIC COMMENTS TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, ANY REQUESTS FOR CHANGES TO MAPS THAT WE CONSIDERED, WE WILL PRESENT TO THE BOARD.
THIS IS A SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF GOING THROUGH THE PUBLIC COMMENTS AND ANY REVISIONS TO THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAT.
IF THERE ARE REVISIONS THAT NEED TO BE MADE, IF THE BOARD APPROVES CHANGES TO THE MAP THAT NIGHT, UM, THEN THOSE WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE.
AND THE REVISED REDISTRICTING MAP WILL BE LEFT UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT FOR AN ADDITIONAL 15 DAYS.
AND THAT IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE VIRGINIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
THAT ALLOWS US TO BE THE MOST TRANSPARENT PROCESS AVAILABLE AFTER THAT OCCURS, THOUGH, WE DO HAVE A DATE AGAIN, ANOTHER MEETING OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON MARCH 15TH.
NOW THE PURPOSE OF WHICH IS SOLELY A PUBLIC HEARING, AND WE HOPE THE ADOPTION OF THE FINAL REDISTRICTING MAP AND THE ACCOMPANYING AUDIENCE, UM, EXCUSE ME, ORDINANCE THE MAP AND ORDINANCE BECOME EFFECTIVE 30 DAYS AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN APPROVED IN THIS CASE, THAT SHOULD BE BY APRIL 15TH, KNOWN TO MOST OF US IS TAX DAY.
AND WHILE THAT SOUNDS LIKE APRIL 15TH IS MONTHS AND MONTHS AWAY FROM ANY ELECTION PROCESS.
THE REALITY IS THAT THE GENERAL REGISTRAR ADVISED US THAT AS OF NOW, THE CALENDAR FOR ABSENTEE VOTING FOR JUNE 21 PRIMARIES STARTS ON MAY 6TH.
AND SO THIS WILL ONLY BE ADOPTED TWO TO THREE WEEKS AHEAD OF THAT TIMEFRAME.
I DO WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT EVERY RESIDENT IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY WILL GET UPDATED VOTER INFORMATION AFTER THE GOOCHLAND COUNTY ADOPTS ITS MAPS, BECAUSE EVEN IF YOU'RE STAYING IN THE SAME DISTRICT, EVEN IF YOU'RE VOTING IN THE SAME PRECINCT, MAYBE EVEN AT THE SAME PLACE AS IS TRUE FOR MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS, YOUR STATE AND FEDERAL VOTING DISTRICTS HAVE CHANGED.
AND SO YOU'LL BE GETTING THAT INFORMATION UPDATED NEXT.
UM, I HAVE ONE MORE ITEM BEFORE WE GET TO THESE QUESTIONS AND THAT IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A DEMONSTRATION OF A WEBSITE APPLICATION THAT'S AVAILABLE.
IT ALLOWS RESIDENTS TO ACTUALLY SEARCH FOR THEIR ADDRESS OR ANOTHER ADDRESS IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT DISTRICT AND PRECINCT IT IS IN TODAY.
AND WE'LL BE UNDER THE PROPOSAL.
AND FOR THAT, I'M ASKING INTERIM COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, MANUEL ALVAREZ TO COME UP.
YOU KNOW, HIS COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR NOW HAS BEEN BOARD MEMBER OF THE PAST.
HE HAS A LONG CAREER AS IT GUY.
SO, BUT I HAVE FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING I USED TO KNOW.
SO, UM, THIS IS A MAP THAT OUR FOLKS FROM GIS DEVELOPED, IT'S A, IT'S AN INTERACTIVE MAP AND IT'S ON OUR WEBSITE.
IF YOU GO TO THEIR WEBSITE AND I PROBABLY COULD SHOW YOU THAT, BUT I'LL MAKE IT LAST.
SO IF YOU GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND YOU GO TO THE LOGISTIC TEAM PAGE AND YOU, UM, CLICK ON THE, UH, THE DISTRICT IN MAPS, THEN THERE'S A LINK ABOVE THIS, ABOUT A MAP TO LOOK JUST LIKE THIS.
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AND YOU CAN CLICK ON THE LINK AND IT OPENS A BIG MAP, BUT YOU CAN OPEN A SMALLER VERSION EITHER WAY.UH, WHICHEVER VERSION YOU OPEN, YOU CAN CLICK IN AND MAKE A LARGER, UH, DOUBLE CLICKING.
THERE'S SEVERAL THINGS YOU'LL, YOU'LL HAVE THIS, UM, WELCOME SCREEN THAT TELLS YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE APPLICATION UP HERE AT THE TOP.
IF YOU PUSH A BUTTON, IT PUTS THIS LINE ACROSS THE SCREEN, WE CALL IT A SLIDER.
AND AS YOU MOVE THE SLIDER TO THE LEFT, WHAT YOU SEE NOW IS THE CURRENT OR THE PROPOSED MAP PROPOSAL DISTRICT.
IN MAP, IF YOU MOVE IT TO THE RIGHT, YOU START SEEING THE OLD BOUNDARIES UP HERE.
AND SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHERE THE CHANGES TOOK PLACE, BECAUSE YOU CAN, YOU CAN SEE THE LINES AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT CHANGED.
ANOTHER NEAT THING ABOUT THE MAP IS THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY CLICK ON THIS MAGNIFYING GLASS AT THE TOP AND PUT IN AN ADDRESS AND YOU CAN START TYPING IN, UM, A STREET NAME.
SO I'LL JUST TAKE ONE OF THESE.
SO YOU CLICK ON THE ADDRESS AND IT'LL TAKE IT TO THE ADDRESS ON THE MAP.
AND YOU WILL SEE ON THIS, CALL-OUT YOUR CURRENT DISTRICT.
I MEAN, YOUR PROPOSED DISTRICT, YOUR PROPOSED PRECINCT AND THE DISTRICT THAT YOU WERE OCCURRED THAT YOU WERE IN.
SO IN THIS CASE, UM, I GOT LUCKY AND PICK ONE THAT MOVED FROM THREE TO DISTRICT TWO, AND IT SHOWS THAT YOU'LL BE VOTING IN DISTRICT TWO, END UP PRECINCT OR POLLING PLACE TO A ONE, UH, WHICH IS CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL.
UM, SO THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT, LIKE I SAID, YOU CAN ACTUALLY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAPS ON THE SIDE, YOU CAN SEE STREET NAMES, BUT ON THIS MAP, YOU CAN ACTUALLY, UM, IF YOU, I THINK YOU HAVE TO CLOSE THAT OUT.
YOU CAN ACTUALLY DIG IN AND IT MAY TAKE A LITTLE BIT TO LOAD, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE ACTUAL STREET NAMES ON THE MAP.
ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I LET MS. PEGGY COME BACK UP? NOPE.
MA'AM I'M NOT THE TECHNOLOGY PERSON.
SO I ALWAYS HAVE TO SEE THAT PART OF THE PRESENTATION TO SOMEONE ELSE, BUT IT IS, UH, WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE TIME AND EFFORT OF THE GIS STAFF TO CREATE THAT BECAUSE THE MAPS THEMSELVES, AS DETAILED AS WE WERE TRYING TO BE, PEOPLE ARE LIKE, I CAN'T FIND MYSELF.
AND WE JUST WEREN'T CAPABLE OF PUTTING EVERY ROAD NAME ON THE MAP BECAUSE THEN THERE'S WITH ALL THE CENSUS BLOCK AND ALL THE REST, IT WAS TOO BUSY TO EVEN BE ABLE TO READ.
UM, BUT WE ARE AT THAT TIME NOW WHERE I'D LIKE TO BE HAPPY TO INVITE YOU TO ASK QUESTIONS OR MAKE COMMENTS, UM, BOTH ON ZOOM OR FROM RESIDENTS IN THE ROOM.
AGAIN, IF YOU'RE IN THE ROOM, I'M TO ASK YOU TO COME UP TO THE MICROPHONE, GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS.
IF YOU'RE ON ZOOM, THE PHONE, YOU CAN USE STAR NINE TO RAISE YOUR HAND, OR IF YOU'RE USING THE COMPUTER, THERE'S A RAISE HAND BUTTON.
AND FOR THOSE ON ZOOM, IF YOU COULD PLEASE TURN DOWN OR TURN OFF YOUR SPEAKER SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY FEEDBACK, BUT WHILE THE ZOOM FOLKS ARE FIGURING OUT HOW TO RAISE THEIR HAND, I'LL ASK THE FOLKS IN THE ROOM.
IS THERE ANYONE WHO'D LIKE TO COME UP AND MAKE A COMMENT OR A QUESTION YOU'RE WELCOME TO DO SO NOW, BUT I'M GETTING SHAKEN OFF.
I WAS NEVER A PITCHER, BUT I DO RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, WHAT THE SHAKED OFF IS A WARREN.
DO WE HAVE ANY RESIDENTS ON ZOOM WHO HAVE RAISED THEIR HANDS? UM, WE HAVE A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, A LISTING PLACED ON OUR WEBSITE AND THAT'S GENERATED FROM FOLKS THAT ASK US QUESTIONS IN THE MEETING.
SOMETIMES JUST AFTER THE MEETING, THINGS THAT WE THINK ARE ASKED THAT FOLKS THAT RESIDENTS WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.
SO THAT'S A HANDY PLACE TO GO IF YOU NEED IT.
WE CERTAINLY SIMPLY THANK THOSE WHO ARE HERE, UH, ELECTRONICALLY AND IN PERSON FOR PARTICIPATING IN OUR REDISTRICTING PROCESS.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO US THAT OUR CITIZENS BE EDUCATED AND ENGAGED AND UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AND LET US KNOW IF THEY SEE SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING DIFFERENTLY OR THAT THEY'D LIKE TO SEE DIFFERENTLY.
AND, UM, WE WELCOME PUBLIC COMMENTS TO CONTINUE ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH FEBRUARY 1ST.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.