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SPECIFICALLY TO DILUTE MINORITY VOTER PARTICIPATION OR TO CONCENTRATE MINORITY VOTER PARTICIPATION.BOTH OF THOSE AS A PREDOMINANT REASON FOR A DISTRICT ARE NOT CONSTITUTIONAL.
THE FOURTH FEDERAL REQUIREMENT.
SORRY, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ME TWICE.
I'M SURE THESE GUYS DON'T AND FOR SOME OF US THAT YOU'RE HEARING ME FOR THE SEVENTH TIME, THE FOURTH FEDERAL ELECTION REQUIREMENT IS THAT YOU USE CLEARLY OBSERVABLE BOUNDARIES BY LAW THAT'S RIVERS STREETS CAN BE CREEKS, TY WAYS AND ROADS.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO BE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THING ABOUT WHERE WE DREW OUR DISTRICTS.
BUT AS I GOT INTO THE PROCESS, IT TURNS OUT I WAS A LITTLE BIT WRONG.
WHAT REALLY MATTERS IS THAT THE CENSUS BUREAU CREATES CENSUS BLOCKS WITHIN GOOCHLAND COUNTY AND THE 2020 CENSUS CREATED 780 CENSUS BLOCKS.
NOW THE BOUNDARY OF A CENSUS BLOCK IS ONE OF THOSE CLEARLY OBSERVABLE BOUNDARIES, BUT THE PROCESS OF REDISTRICTING FOR US WAS BUNDLING TOGETHER THE CENSUS BLOCKS TO REACH THE RIGHT NUMBERS.
SO LET ME SHOW YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT A CENSUS BLOCK.
THIS JUST SO YOU KNOW, IS PROPOSED DISTRICT FOUR IN THE LARGE TAN AREA.
THE ORANGE DOWN BELOW IS PROPOSED DISTRICT FIVE AND THE BLUE TO THE LEFT IS PROPOSED DISTRICT A THREE.
BUT WHAT I WANT TO SHOW YOU, IF YOU CAN SEE IT FROM THERE IS THOSE BLACK LINES LIKE THERE, OR THERE'S A BIG BLACK LINE THAT GOES HERE.
THOSE BLACK LINES ARE THE BOUNDARIES OF CENSUS BLOCKS.
SO YOU SEE THAT REALLY LARGE ONE IN THE MIDDLE.
I'LL TELL YOU IT HAS ABOUT 342 RESIDENTS IN IT.
AND THEN YOU SEE THAT SMALL ONE THERE OR SMALL ONES UP HERE.
THOSE ARE CREATED BY THE CENSUS BUREAU.
WE HAVE NO SAY IN HOW LARGE OR SMALL THEY ARE, HOW PEOPLE ARE IN THEM.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO USE EACH CENSUS BLOCK ON OUR MAPS.
WHETHER THEY'RE THE ONES HERE THAT YOU SEE OR ON THE COUNTY WEBSITE, UM, TELLS YOU THREE NUMBERS.
THE FIRST NUMBER IS A SHORTENED VERSION OF THE CENSUS BLOCK IDENTIFIER.
THE CENSUS ACTUALLY IDENTIFIES EACH BLOCK WITH 15 NUMBERS.
WE CAN'T EVEN FIT 15 DIFFERENT DIGITS INTO OUR BLOCKS.
SO WE SHORTENED IT TO THE LAST FOUR.
SO I WOULD LOOK UP AND GO, OKAY, WELL THIS IS CENSUS BLOCK.
BUT TO ME EACH CENSUS BLACK BATSHIT IT YOU'LL SEE THE SECOND NUMBER THAT APPEARS IS THEN THE NUMBER OF, UM, ADJUSTED POPULATION, THE NUMBER OF RESIDENTS IN THE CENSUS BLOCK.
AND THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE FOR TRYING MAKE THOSE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL DISTRICTS BY POPULATION.
THE THIRD NUMBER IN OUR CENSUS BLOCKS IS NOT A CENSUS NUMBER.
THE THIRD NUMBER IN THE CENSUS BLOCKS ARE THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN THAT SAME CENSUS BLOCK.
AND THAT DIDN'T COME FROM CENSUS.
THAT INFORMATION CAME FROM OUR GENERAL REGISTRAR'S FILES IN NOVEMBER OF 2021.
HE, UM, IMPORTED, OKAY, IT'S GOING TO GET TECHNICAL, BUT HE IMPORTED THE DATA AND WE PLACED TO PEOPLE'S ADDRESSES SO THAT WE KNEW HOW MANY REGISTERED VOTERS AND YOU'LL LEARN IN JUST A MINUTE THAT MATTERS WITH RESPECT TO, UM, POLLING PLACES AND PRECINCTS.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT AS YOU LOOK AT THE MAP AND YOU THINK, OH, WE COULD JUST MOVE X OR MOVE.
WHY WE EITHER ADD CENSUS BLOCKS OR WE SUBTRACT CENSUS BLOCKS.
WE DON'T JUST GET TO DRAW THE LINES WHERE WE THINK THEY SHOULD BE DRAWING.
THE LINES IS REALLY BUNDLING TOGETHER, CENSUS BLOCKS.
SO LET ME GET DOWN TO THE NEXT LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR ELECTION DISTRICTS.
AND THIS ONE IS NOT A FEDERAL REQUIREMENT.
AND THAT IS THAT WE HAVE A CERTAIN OBLIGATION WITH RESPECT TO RESPECTING THE LINES FOR STATE ELECTION DISTRICTS.
YOU MAY KNOW THAT VIRGINIA ADOPTED ITS STATE ELECTION DISTRICTS.
AND BEFORE THE END OF LAST YEAR, THE VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT APPROVES ALLIANCE.
AND WHEN WE MOVE INTO PRECINCTS, I'LL SHOW EXACTLY HOW THAT AFFECTED OUR MAP.
THIS NEXT SLIDE THEN HAS THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DRAWN PRECINCTS.
AND I THINK MOST OF YOU KNOW THAT OUR ELECTION DISTRICTS THEN HAVE SUB AREAS CALLED PRECINCTS.
WE HAVE TWO PRECINCTS, GOD BLUSHER IN EVERY DISTRICT IN GOOCHLAND, CURRENT MAP.
AND THE PROPOSED DISTRICT MAP ALSO HAS TWO PRECINCTS.
THERE IS NOT A REQUIREMENT, BUT HOW MANY PRECINCTS TO HAVE PER DISTRICT? WHAT THERE IS INSTEAD IS THIS FIRST ONE HERE.
NUMBER SIX, AT THE TIME YOU ESTABLISH A PRECINCT YOU'RE REQUIRED BY LAW TO HAVE BETWEEN 105,000 REGISTERED VOTERS
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IN THAT PRECINCT.THEN YOU'LL SEE THAT EACH PRECINCT HAS TO HAVE AN AVAILABLE POLLING PLACE.
THIS NEXT NUMBER EIGHT IS THE ONE THAT GOES HEARKENS BACK TO THE STATE ELECTION LINES.
A PRECINCT IS NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE A STATE ELECTION LINE COME THROUGH IT.
IF EVERYONE IN THE SAME PRECINCT NEEDS TO BE VOTING IN THE SAME STATE ELECTION DISTRICT AND FRANKLY THE SAME FEDERAL ELECTION DISTRICT.
AND WHEN WE GET INTO DISTRICT FOUR, I'LL SHOW YOU THE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT AND HOW THAT AFFECTED OUR PRECINCTS.
AND THEN PRECINCTS AGAIN, HAVE TO FOLLOW CLEARLY OBSERVABLE BOUNDARIES, WHICH IS BUNDLING TOGETHER THE CENSUS BLOCKS TO CREATE THOSE, THE ONLY STATE LINE, THE STATE ELECTION LINE THAT GOES THROUGH GOOCHLAND SPLITS, UH, DISTRICTS 56 AND 57 FOR THE STATE HOUSE OF DELEGATES.
SO THAT WAS THE ONLY LINE THAT WE HAD TO DEAL WITH IN, IN DOING OUR MAP.
SO THOSE ARE ALL THE LEGALLY REQUIRED CRITERIA FOR ELECTION DISTRICTS AND PRECINCTS.
THE NEXT THING WE CONSIDERED WAS LEGALLY PERMISSIBLE CRITERIA.
AND THESE WERE ONES THAT WE HAD ASKED THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, SHOULD WE CONSIDER THESE? AND THEY PROVIDED US DIRECTION.
AND SO AS TO THAT, IT WAS TO MOVE THE FEWEST NUMBER OF VOTERS AS POSSIBLE.
SO THAT PEOPLE WHO HAD REGULARLY BEEN VOTING IN A DISTRICT, IF THEY COULD REMAIN IN THAT DISTRICT, THEY DID TO RETAIN THE SAME BASIC SHAPE OF THE DISTRICTS SO THAT WE WEREN'T JUST STARTING FROM SCRATCH AND DYING ANYWHERE, BUT TRYING TO RETAIN WHAT WE HAD AND TO KEEP RESIDENTS WHO LIVE IN THE SAME SUBDIVISION IN THE SAME DISTRICT, WHERE THAT WAS POSSIBLE, THAT JUST PREVENTS, UM, VOTER CONFUSION, BECAUSE MOST NEIGHBORS FIGURE WE'RE ALL VOTING FOR THE SAME PERSON THEN STRUCK THROUGH IS THE LAST CRITERIA IS ONE THAT WE'VE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
IT IS ABSOLUTELY LEGALLY PERMISSIBLE FOR US TO CONSIDER WHERE INCUMBENTS WHO ARE CURRENTLY IN OFFICE LIVE AND TO MAKE DISTRICTS THAT ALLOW THEM TO STAY IN THE DISTRICT IN WHICH THEY LIVE.
OUR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HAS TOLD US TO STRIKE THAT AS A LEGAL CONSIDERATION FOR REDISTRICTING.
THEY SAID IT WAS NOT TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT AND IT WAS NOT.
SO THEY CHOSE NOT TO TRY AND PROTECT THEIR SEATS OR PLAY POLITICS WITH THIS MAP.
IN FACT, THEY HAD NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH HIM THAT AS I'LL TELL YOU IN JUST A MINUTE, SO ONE OTHER PIECE I TOLD YOU I WOULD COVER BEFORE WE'D LOOKED AT THE MAP AGAIN, AND THAT IS HOW DID WE GET TO THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP? AND THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS I DIDN'T DO THIS BY MYSELF.
THERE IS A VERY STRONG TEAM OF FOLKS, UM, STARTING WITH OUR INTERIM COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, MANNY ALVAREZ, MYSELF, YOUR DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, JOANNE HUNTER, OUR GENERAL REGISTRAR, RYAN MULLIGAN.
AND THEN FROM OUR GIS DEPARTMENT, BOTH JONATHAN WORLEY AND DIVYA GEORGE WHO WORKED TOGETHER REGULARLY WEEKLY MEETING TO PREPARE THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP.
BUT WE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THE COUNTY WHO HAD ANY INPUT INTO THIS MAP.
WE'RE THE ONLY ONES THAT PARTICIPATED IN IT.
NO MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, NO MEMBER OF THE SCHOOL BOARD, NOT EVEN THE ELECTORAL BOARD WAS MADE AWARE OF THIS MAP UNTIL IT WAS POSTED TO THE PUBLIC IN DECEMBER.
LET ME JUST STOP ONE MORE TIME TO SHOW YOU THE CURRENT ELECTION DISTRICT MAPS WITH THE 2020 POPULATION BECAUSE OF THIS IS AS GLAMOUR MIGHT SAY THE BEFORE PICTURE, THIS IS WHAT WE STARTED WITH, WHERE WAS OUR POPULATION AND HOW UNEQUAL WAS IT? HERE'S A CHART THAT YOU CAN READ A LOT BETTER THAN JUST LOOKING AT THE MAP.
THIS IS THE CURRENT ELECTION DISTRICTS DATA WITH THE TARGET POPULATION THAT WOULD MAKE IT EQUAL.
THAT NUMBER IS ACTUALLY THAT 48 30.
AND THEN IT SHOWS YOU HOW FAR FROM THAT TARGET NUMBER EACH DISTRICT WAS BEFORE WE STARTED.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE STARTED WITH TO TRY AND GET THINGS EQUALIZED.
YOU CAN SEE THAT THE LARGEST NUMBERS OF CHANGES NEEDED TO HAPPEN BOTH IN THE CENTRAL AND THEN THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE COUNTY.
THERE WAS VERY LITTLE CHANGE THAT NEEDED TO OCCUR TO DISTRICTS ONE AND TWO.
SO WHAT DID WE DO TO GET STARTED? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE A SOFTWARE THAT IS MADE FOR REDISTRICTING.
SO WE LET THE SOFTWARE START OFF BY CREATING A BASE MAP, FED INTO THE SYSTEM FOR IT TO CONSIDER THOSE FIRST FIVE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED UNDER LAW AND SAID, CREATE A MAP FOR US.
ONCE IT CREATED THAT MAP, THE TEAM SAT DOWN WITH IT AND STARTED TO ANALYZE THE OTHER CRITERIA THAT ARE REQUIRED.
SO WE WERE LIKE, OH, WAIT A MINUTE, THIS SPLITS UP A SUBDIVISION.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN MOVE IT SO THAT SUBDIVISION'S NOT SPLIT OR LET'S TRY AND KEEP THE DISTRICTS LINE CLOSER TO WHAT THEY ARE TODAY AND LESS TO CAN'T DO THAT.
SO WE REVISE THE DISTRICT LINES BASED ON THAT ADDITIONAL CRITERIA APPROVED BY THE BOARD.
AND THEN FINALLY WE FOUND THE PRECINCT LINES AND THE POLLING PLACES AND THAT THEIR
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PROPOSED POLLING PLACES, BECAUSE WE'RE JUST TRYING TO CONFIRM THAT EVERY PLACE THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED IS WILLING TO SERVE OR CONTINUE TO SERVE.AND FROM THAT, WE CREATED WHAT WE'RE CALLING OUR PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP.
IT WAS POSTED ON THE COUNTY WEBSITE.
AND AS YOU MAY KNOW, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A SPECIAL WEBSITE ON OUR PAGE JUST FOR REDISTRICTING POSTED ON DECEMBER 17TH.
SO IT'S BEEN OUT THERE FOR ABOUT SIX WEEKS NOW FOR FOLKS TO LOOK AT WHERE DID WE END UP AFTER WE'VE REVISED THE DISTRICTS HERE, YOU HAVE THE POPULATION OF EACH DISTRICT UNDER THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP, THEN THAT TARGET, AND THIS NOT ONLY SHOWS YOU THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT YOU WERE OFF FROM THAT TARGET GOAL, BUT THAT PERCENTAGE SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT THE FIVE DISTRICTS ARE ALL WITHIN PLUS OR MINUS 5% OF THAT TARGET.
I CAN ALSO GO NOW GO THROUGH EACH DISTRICT.
UM, ONE BY ONE, EXCUSE ME, TO LET YOU KNOW WHERE WE CHANGED THE LINES AND WHY SINCE MOST OF THE CHANGE OCCURRED IN THE EAST, WE ACTUALLY STARTED WITH PROPOSED DISTRICT FIVE.
IT'S THIS MAP OF THE DISTRICT ITSELF WAS ABLE TO SHOW YOU THE TWO PRECINCTS WOULD THAT SHADING WITH DISTRICT PRECINCT 5 0 1 BEING THE DARKER SHADING ON THE LEFT AND PRECINCT 5 0 2 BEING THE LIGHTER PRECINCT ON THE RIGHT, GIVEN THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION INEQUITY OCCURRED HERE, WE STARTED IN DISTRICT FIVE, YOU'LL SEE FOR THE SOUTHERN BORDER AND THE EASTERN BORDER OF DISTRICT FIVE.
WELL THERE THE COUNTY BORDERS.
SO YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO ADD VOTERS BY GOING OUTSIDE OF THAT.
IN ADDITION, DISTRICT FIVE ABUTS, THE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT LINE THAT GOES BETWEEN DISTRICTS 56 AND 57.
THAT'S THAT GREEN LINE THAT YOU CAN SEE ON THE EDGE BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT LINE WAS DRAWN.
WE CHOSE TO KEEP THAT AS THE BORDER BETWEEN DISTRICT THREE AND DISTRICT FIVE.
SO THAT BORDER DIDN'T CHANGE AT ALL.
NOW DISTRICT FIVE NEEDED TO GAIN 768 RESIDENTS.
AND GIVEN HOW IT WAS ESTABLISHED, THE ONLY PLACE WE COULD MAKE CHANGES WAS THE BORDER WITH DISTRICT FOUR, WE MADE ESSENTIALLY THREE CHANGES.
THEN THE BORDER BETWEEN FIVE AND FOUR, WE MOVED SOME CENSUS BLOCKS INTO DISTRICT FOUR BECAUSE OTHERWISE KINLOCH SUBDIVISION WAS SPLIT BETWEEN THE TWO DISTRICTS.
WE MOVED SOME CENSUS BLOCKS FROM FOUR INTO FIVE BECAUSE THE MOSAIC SUBDIVISION WAS BEING SPLIT BY THE DISTRICTS THAT WERE CREATED ON THE BASE MAP.
AND ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE RIGHT NEAR THE COUNTY BORDER, THERE WAS ONE CENSUS BLOCK THAT WAS, UM, TRANSFERRED FROM TO AND THAT WAS DONE TO ACTUALLY GET THE RIGHT POPULATION THAT'S SO WE COULD END UP AT THE RIGHT NUMBER.
SO HERE'S THE DATA ON PROPOSED DISTRICT FIVE, THE ADJUSTED POPULATION, THE DIFFERENCE IT IS FROM THAT TARGET, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S VERY CLOSE.
AND THEN THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU SEE THE PRECINCT INFORMATION, THE NUMBERS OF REGISTERED VOTERS.
AGAIN, THAT'S NOT POPULATION IN BOTH PRECINCT 5 0 1 AND IN 5 0 2.
THE ONE THING YOU MAY NOTE IS THAT THE PRECINCT NUMBERS OF REGISTERED VOTERS ARE PRETTY CLOSE TO ONE ANOTHER.
ALTHOUGH LEGALLY, ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS CREATE A PRECINCT WITH BETWEEN 105,000 VOTERS, A BETTER ELECTION PROCESS AND MORE CONVENIENCE FOR THE VOTERS EXIST.
IF YOUR PRECINCT GENERALLY HAVE AN EQUAL NUMBER OF VOTERS IN EACH.
SO OUR GOAL WAS TO ESTABLISH PRECINCTS WITH ROUGHLY EQUAL NUMBERS.
IT JUST MAKES FOR A BETTER ELECTION.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANTED TO DO.
AND IN DISTRICT FIVE, BOTH OF THE PROPOSED POLLING PLACES HAVE BEEN USED IN THE PAST.
AND SO FOLKS ARE FAMILIAR WITH THEM AND WE THINK THEY'RE APPROPRIATE TO CONTINUE AS PROPOSED POLLING PLACES.
SO THEN WE LOOK AT DISTRICT FOUR, AGAIN, YOU SEE THE TWO PRECINCTS FOR HAWAIIAN AND 4 0 2.
ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PRECINCTS IN DISTRICT FOUR IS THAT GREEN LINE CONTINUES UP AND BECOMES THE PRECINCT BOUNDARY.
AND THE REASON IS AGAIN, BECAUSE THAT IS THE STATE ELECTION LINE.
WE CANNOT HAVE A PRECINCT THAT IS SPLIT BY THAT LINE.
SO INSTEAD WE USED IT AS THE PRECINCT LINE AND WE'D BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE VIRGINIA STATE LAW, NOT TO HAVE SPLIT PRECINCTS NOW, DISTRICT FOUR, AND HE DID LOSE 1,009 PEOPLE.
SO THAT'S A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE DISTRICT FOR ITS BORDERS ON THE NORTH AND THE EAST OR THE COUNTY BORDERS.
I'VE ALREADY DESCRIBED TO YOU HOW WE CHANGED THE BORDER WITH FIVE, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO FOUR WAS THAT ITS EASTERN BORDER,
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EXCUSE ME, ITS WESTERN WAR WAS MOVED SUBSTANTIALLY EASTER.IT USED TO BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF OIL VILLE.
AND NOW IT'S BEEN PULLED BACK TO SHALLOW WELL ROAD.
AND THAT IS SIMPLY TO, IN ORDER TO GET THE RIGHT NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN FOR AS WELL AS DISTRICT THREE NEEDS OVER 1200 PEOPLE IN IT.
SO IT MADE THE MOST SENSE TO PULL THAT BORDER BACK AND MAKE THEM MORE VOTERS ELIGIBLE IN, UM, IN THREE.
SO I'VE DESCRIBED TO YOU ONE SLIDE BEFORE THE CHANGES I MADE BETWEEN FOUR AND FIVE AND THEN THAT'S THE DISTRICT CHANGE WE MADE TO THE BORDER WITH THREE.
SO HERE IS THE DATA ON DISTRICT FOR THE ADJUSTED POPULATION.
YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE WITHIN THE TARGET JUST ABOUT 2%, ALMOST 3% OFF.
AND THE NUMBERS OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN EACH PRECINCT.
NOW THERE ARE 2000 VOTERS DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE TWO PRECINCTS, WHICH IS NOT WHAT WE HAD IT'S FRANKLY, NOT WHAT WE HAVE IN ANY OTHER OF THE PRECINCTS.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE STATE ELECTION LINE WITH THE INABILITY TO, UM, CUT THAT INTO TWO SEPARATE PRECINCTS.
WE ENDED UP DRAWING THE BORDER HERE.
IT'S LEGALLY APPROPRIATE, PROBABLY NOT THE BEST FOR AN ELECTION PROCESS, A SMOOTH ELECTION PROCESS, BUT IT IS LEGALLY APPROPRIATE AND ALLOWS US TO NOT HAVE SPLIT PRECINCTS.
AND THEN THE TWO, UM, POLLING PLACES THAT HAD BEEN USED RECENTLY OR PROPOSED IN PLACES TO CONTINUE FOR THESE TWO PRECINCTS, SURPRISINGLY IT'S DISTRICT THREE THAT NEEDED THE MOST CHANGE IN POPULATION.
AND FRANKLY THAT'S BECAUSE BACK IN 2010, THERE WERE MORE POPULATION IN THE PRISONS AND THEY WERE ALL COUNTED IN DISTRICT THREE IN 2010.
SO THAT'S WHY IT HAS THE LARGEST CHANGE.
UM, DISTRICT THREE NEEDED TO GAIN 1,231 RESIDENTS.
AND, UM, ALSO TO MAKE 500 RESIDENTS AVAILABLE TO GO INTO DISTRICTS ONE AND TWO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A DOMINO EFFECT AS WE TRAVEL FROM WEST TO EAST NORTHERN SOUTHERN BOUNDARIES OR IF THE COUNTY BORDERS.
SO TO, UH, MEET THE APPROPRIATE POPULATION.
AS YOU KNOW, WE MOVED THE EASTERN BOUNDARY OF DISTRICT THREE MUCH FURTHER OVER.
WE ALSO, UM, LEFT THE BOUNDARY WITH DISTRICT FIVE, THE SAME BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT BLIND COMES THROUGH AND DISTRICT THREE'S WESTERN BOUNDARY TODAY FOLLOWS COURTHOUSE CREEK.
NOW THAT'S NOT BECAUSE WE THINK COURTHOUSE CREEK IS THE BIGGEST THING THAT EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD WOULD KNOW IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY.
IT'S BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE CENSUS BLOCKS IN THAT AREA USED AS THEIR BOUNDARY.
AND SO THAT THEN BECAME OUR BOUNDARY AS WE BUNDLED THE CENSUS BLOCKS TOGETHER.
THAT MEANS THAT THE CORE OF COURTHOUSE VILLAGE MOVED INTO DISTRICT TWO.
AND THE OTHER PORTIONS OF WHAT YOU THINK OF THE COURTHOUSE AREA ARE USE ARE IN DISTRICT THREE, BUT THAT'S NOT A NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO IT DIDN'T MEET THE CRITERIA OF TRYING TO KEEP IT TOGETHER.
AND WE DID MAKE ANOTHER CHANGE UP IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER, THAT DARKER LINE YOU SEE THAT USED TO BE THE OLD STATE ELECTION BOUNDARY.
AND SO THAT WAS USED AS THE DISTRICT BOUNDARY BETWEEN TWO AND THREE.
SO THAT AGAIN, WE DIDN'T HAVE SPLIT PRECINCTS SINCE IT'S NO LONGER AT THE STATE ELECTION BOUNDARY.
WE MOVED THOSE CENSUS BLOCKS INTO DISTRICTS THREE IN ORDER TO HAVE JUST A MORE COMPACT CONTIGUOUS, UM, UM, DISTRICT FOR THREE.
AND THESE ARE THE FACTS ON DISTRICT THREE, THE ADJUSTED POPULATION FIGURE, UH, THE FACT THAT IT IS WITHIN THE 5%, I BELIEVE DISTRICT THREE HAS THE LARGEST DIFFERENCE, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S STILL ONLY JUST OVER 4% DIFFERENCE FROM THE TARGET IN BOTH THE POLLING PLACES IN DISTRICT THREE ARE PROPOSED, POLLING PLACES ARE NEW.
THE GOOCHLAND COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER IS A FACILITY THAT DIDN'T EXIST IN THE PAST, BUT IT CERTAINLY CAN SERVE AS A POLLING PLACE.
AND, UM, COUNTY OWNED, PUBLIC BUILDINGS ARE PREFERRED FOR POLLING PLACES AND THEN RANDOLPH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WE KNEW BEFORE WE STARTED THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS, THAT SCHOOLS ARE WILLING TO MAKE THE BUILDINGS AVAILABLE FOR VOTING THAT STUDENTS WILL NOT HAVE CLASSES THAT DAY.
IT MAY BE A TEACHER WORKDAY, BUT THERE WON'T BE STUDENTS IN CLASS.
AND SO WE ARE PLANNING TO USE RANDOLPH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AS A PUDDING POLLING PLACE.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THAT THE PRECINCTS ARE CLOSE TO ROUGHLY HALF, UM, IN EACH OF THE TWO PRECINCTS AND WE GET INTO PROPOSED DISTRICT TWO.
AGAIN, YOU SEE THE PRECINCTS IN THE SHADING DISTRICT, TWO NEEDED TO GAIN APPROXIMATELY 415 RESIDENTS AND ALSO TO HAVE 132 RESIDENTS TO PROVIDE TO DISTRICT ONE, THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN BOUNDARIES ARE THE COUNTY BORDERS.
AND I JUST EXPLAINED TO YOU THAT DISTRICT TWOS EASTERN BOUNDARY NOW FOLLOWS COURTHOUSE CREEK BASED ON WHEREVER WE NEEDED TO DRAW IT FOR DISTRICT THREE.
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HOW WE HAD A COUPLE OF CENSUS BLOCKS THAT WE MOVED INTO THREE BECAUSE THEY WERE OTHERWISE SPLIT BY THE FORMER STATE LINE.LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF DISTRICT TWO.
WE HAVEN'T DISCUSSED THAT IN THE VICINITY OF CEDAR PLAINS ROAD UP IN THAT AREA.
WE MOVE SOME CENSUS BLOCKS BETWEEN DISTRICTS ONE AND DISTRICTS TWO, AND THE REASONS WERE THAN OTHERWISE WE WERE SPLITTING THE SUBDIVISION MEREDITH FARMS INTO THE TWO DIFFERENT SUBJECTS IN DISTRICTS.
WE ALSO WERE SPLITTING UP RED EYE BLUFF SUBDIVISION AND THE BOWLING LANE PLACE SUBDIVISION.
SO TO THE EXTENT WE COULD, WE MOVED THE CENSUS BLOCKS.
SO THAT THOSE THREE SUBDIVISIONS WERE ALL IN THE SAME THAT THE, IN THE MORE IN THE SAME DISTRICT AND THEN JUST TO OBTAIN THE APPROPRIATE POPULATION, WE NEEDED ONE CENSUS BLOCK ON THE LOWER PART OF THIS BOUNDARY WAS MOVED FROM DISTRICT TWO TO DISTRICT ONE RIGHT THERE.
AND IF YOU REMEMBER, I TOLD YOU DISTRICT ONE NEEDED TO GAIN 132 RESIDENTS.
SO WHEN WE GET, EXCUSE ME, WHEN WE GET TO THE DATA FOR PROPOSED DISTRICT TWO, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE GOT A POPULATION THAT'S WITHIN THE TARGET, THE ADJUSTED POPULATION, THESE PRECINCTS DISTRICT TWO USED TO HAVE THE MOST UNEQUAL PRECINCT NUMBERS FOR REGISTERED VOTERS, UM, IN THE PAST.
BUT WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE THEM VERY CLOSE TO, UM, EQUAL WITH THE NEW PRECINCT LINE.
CHIEF CORNERSTONE BAPTIST CHURCH IS BEING ASKED TO SERVE AS A PROPOSED POLLING PLACE.
AND THEN THE COUNTY WILL USE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL AGAIN AND OTHER PUBLIC BUILDING THAT WE CAN MAKE AVAILABLE TO BE A POLLING PLACE.
SO THOSE ARE THE CHANGES FOR TWO, THEN PROPOSE DISTRICT ONE, WHICH NEEDED THE LEAST AMOUNT OF CHANGE AT ALL, AND ONLY NEEDED TO GAIN 132 RESIDENTS.
AND IT'S NORTHERN SOUTHERN AND WESTERN BOUNDARY OR THE COUNTY BORDERS.
SO THEY ONLY CHANGED THAT WAS MADE.
WAS THAT ONE BLOCK I SHOWED YOU WITH CENSUS, UM, EXCUSE ME, WITH DISTRICT TWO THAT MOVED FROM DISTRICT TWO TO DISTRICT ONE, AND THAT ALLOWED US, UM, PLUS THE CHANGES WE MADE UP NEAR, UM, MEREDITH FARMS AND THE OTHER SUBDIVISIONS THAT ALLOWED US TO GET WITHIN THE ADJUSTED POPULATION FIGURES WE NEEDED.
AND THIS IS THE DATA FOR PROPOSED DISTRICT ONE DIGESTED POPULATION WITHIN THE TARGET AND THE PRECINCT NUMBERS RELATIVELY EQUAL GOOCHLAND FIRE RESCUE STATION SIX HAS ALREADY BEEN A POLLING PLACE.
AND BERTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IS A NEW POLLING PLACE PROPOSED POLLING PLACE.
UM, BASED ON THE FACT THAT SCHOOLS TOLD US WE CAN USE THEIR BUILDINGS AFTER THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS WAS DONE.
AND THIS MAP WAS CREATED BY THE TEAM, WE THEN REVIEWED WHAT I'LL CALL THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ABOUT GOOCHLAND COUNTY RESIDENTS, AS WELL AS EACH DISTRICT.
NOW, AT THIS POINT, I WILL TELL YOU THAT FOR THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ANALYSIS, WE HAD TO USE THE TOTAL POPULATION FOR GOOCHLAND COUNTY.
AND THE REASON IS THE CENSUS POPULATION, THE TOTAL, BECAUSE WHEN THE VIRGINIA AGENCY THAT REALLOCATED STATE PRISONERS, THEY DIDN'T PROVIDE US THE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ABOUT WHO THEY WERE REALLOCATING.
SO WE CAN'T COUNT THEM BASED UPON THE DEMOGRAPHICS.
THE COUNTY'S NUMBERS ARE NOT HUGELY DIFFERENT, ABOUT 500 PEOPLE DIFFERENT BETWEEN THESE TWO.
SO, UM, THESE ARE TOTAL POPULATION NUMBERS.
AND AGAIN, LET ME START WITH 2010.
THIS IS 2010 CENSUS DATA AS REPORTED FROM THAT CENSUS.
AT THAT TIME ONLY DEMOGRAPHIC DATA REPORTED FOR RACE WAS WHITE, BLACK AND OTHER.
AND THE COUNTY HAD ABOUT 77, 5% RESIDENTS WHO REPORTED AS WHITE AND ALMOST 4,200 RESIDENTS WHO REPORTED AS BLACK ABOUT 19% OF THE POPULATION.
WHAT I FIND IS GOING TO BE EASIER FOR YOU TO MAKE A COMPARISON FROM 2010 TO 2020, BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERENCES IN HOW THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA WAS COLLECTED IS THE INFORMATION ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT-HAND OF THE SCREEN.
AND THAT IS IF YOU TOTAL UP THE NONWHITE POPULATION, YOU'LL SEE THAT IT'S ABOUT 22.5% OF GOOCHLAND COUNTY, WHICH IS FAIRLY CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE FIND IN 2020.
SO THE 2020 CENSUS DATA SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT COLLECTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION, AND NOT ONLY ASK PEOPLE TO IDENTIFY BY RACE AS WHITE, BLACK, ASIAN, AMERICAN, INDIAN, AND HAWAIIAN, IT THEN INCLUDED EVERY COMBINATION OF THOSE RACES SO THAT THEY ENDED UP WITH ANOTHER 50 MULTI-RACIAL CATEGORIES.
THEN IT ASKED WHETHER AS AN ETHNICITY, YOU IDENTIFIED AS HISPANIC OR NON-HISPANIC, AND THEN IT REPORTED THAT DATA FOR ALL 50 RACIAL CATEGORIES.
WHAT WE CHOSE TO DO WAS TO PRESENT TO THE PUBLIC,
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ANY CATEGORY THAT HAD AT LEAST 2% GOOCHLAND COUNTY RESIDENTS THAT REPORTED IN IT.AND THAT TURNS OUT BEING THE ONES YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN NOW, WHITE, BLACK, HISPANIC, ASIAN, AND THEN WE TOTALED ALL THE REST AND PUT IT DOWN AS OTHER, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE COUNTY'S WHITE POPULATION GREW IN NUMBER, BUT ITS PERCENTAGE AT 78.1 IS FAIRLY CLOSE TO THE PERCENTAGE IN 2010, WHICH WAS 77.5.
AND THEN IF YOU TOTAL THE NONWHITE, YOU'LL SEE THAT YOU'RE AT 21.9%, WHICH IS VERY CLOSE TO THE 22.5% FROM 2010.
NOW THE LARGEST POPULATION IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY IS THE BLACK POPULATION, BUT LARGEST MINORITY POPULATION, EXCUSE ME.
UM, AND IN THE 2020 DATA, IT APPEARS THAT THERE'S A 6% DROP IN THE BLACK POPULATION.
IN FACT, ALMOST A 900, JUST OVER 900 RESIDENTS.
ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND THOUGH, AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT DATA IS THAT THERE ARE ANOTHER OVER ANOTHER 300 RESIDENTS WHO REPORTED IN A MIXED RACE CATEGORY THAT INCLUDED BLACK.
AND SO IF YOU WERE CALCULATING IT THE WAY YOU DID IN 2010, THOSE WOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE, UM, FOLKS WHO REPORTED AS, AS BLACK, AS OPPOSED TO THIS TIME THEY REPORTED AS BLACK, ASIAN, OR BLACK HAWAIIAN OR ANOTHER MULTI-RACIAL.
UM, BUT IT IS, UM, SIGNIFICANT THAT BETWEEN 2010 AND 2020, WHILE THE NUMBERS HAVE CHANGED, THE GENERAL BREAKDOWN OF GOOCHLAND COUNTY POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS IS SIMILAR.
THEN I CAN YOU SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE DISTRICTS? AND I KNOW THIS IS VERY SMALL THOUGH.
YOU CAN ALSO SEE THIS INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE.
UM, AND I'LL ALSO PROVIDE YOU SOME, UM, DATA IN COMPARING THE 2010 DISTRICTS HERE.
THE HIGHEST POPULATION OF BLACK RESIDENTS BEFORE REDISTRICTING IS DISTRICT TWO WITH ABOUT 23% OF ITS POPULATION.
AND THE DISTRICT WITH THE LOWEST POPULATION OF BLACK RESIDENTS IS DISTRICT FIVE, WHICH ONLY HAD 6.6% OF ITS POPULATION REPORT AS BLACK.
NOW IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT GOOCHLAND COUNTY HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO DRAW AN ELECTION DISTRICT THAT HAS A MAJORITY OF MINORITY RESIDENTS SINCE 1991.
UM, WE HAVEN'T HAD THE PERCENTAGE OR NUMBERS OF A BLACK POPULATION IN ORDER TO CREATE A DISTRICT THAT WOULD MAKE A MAJORITY OF THE RES EXCUSE ME, REGISTERED VOTERS, EXCUSE ME, POPULATION AS A MINORITY.
THIS IS THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA THAT WE NOW HAVE FROM THE 2020 PROPOSED REDISTRICTING.
THAT AGAIN, BETTER VISIBLE TO YOU ON THE WEBSITE, BUT WE AGAIN SEE THAT THE HIGHEST POPULATION OF, UH, BLACK RESIDENTS IS IN DISTRICT TWO AT ABOUT 20%.
AND THE LOWEST PERCENTAGE OF RESIDENTS IS STILL DISTRICT FIVE AT JUST OVER 5%.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE OTHER DISTRICTS, YOU WILL SEE THAT DISTRICTS ONE AND THREE HAVE AN INCREASE IN BOTH THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF BLACK RESIDENTS AND THE OTHER DISTRICTS REFLECTED THE CLIENT, BOTH IN THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF RESIDENTS WHO HAVE REPORTED AS BLACK.
SO THAT'S THE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR YOU? UM, ONCE WE CREATED THE PROPOSED MAP, THAT WAS REALLY JUST WHAT WE CONSIDER THE START OF OUR PROCESS.
SO THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK AT THE TIME, BUT STILL, UM, ONCE WE POSTED THAT IN DECEMBER, WE KNEW THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF OUR PROCESS WERE COMMUNITY INPUT AND TRANSPARENCY.
SO TONIGHT IS THE LAST OF SEVEN, UH, COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HELD ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING.
EACH ONE OF WHICH HAS BEEN AVAILABLE IN PERSON AS WELL AS VIA ZOOM.
THE FIRST TWO THAT WE HAD WERE THE WEDNESDAY OF THE SNOWMAGEDDON HERE.
AND SO WHILE WE HELD THOSE AND DID HAVE PARTICIPATION, WE ADDED TWO MORE.
WE ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FIVE MEETINGS, BUT WE ADDED TWO MORE BECAUSE WE JUST DIDN'T FEEL THAT RESIDENTS HAVE THE TIME, UH, TO BE ABLE TO PUT TO REDISTRICTING THAT WEEK.
EVERYBODY WAS WORRIED ABOUT HEAT AND ELECTRICITY, TRYING TO GET SOMEWHERE, UM, COMMUNITY INPUT.
I MENTIONED TO YOU AT THE START THAT I WOULD ASK YOU TO TAKE THE MICROPHONE.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR COMMENT, BECAUSE WE HAVE CREATED TRANSCRIPTS OF THE INQUIRIES MADE AT THE PUBLIC MEETINGS AND WE'VE POSTED THEM TO THE REDISTRICTING WEBSITE SO THAT YOU CAN SEE, EVEN IF YOU WEREN'T THERE, WHAT WAS SAID OR ASKED, AND THE ANSWERS THAT WERE PROVIDED THE COUNTY'S WEBSITE HAS ALL OF THE MAPS THAT I'VE GONE THROUGH SO THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT IT IN MORE DETAIL, THEY HAVE THE TABLES AND THE GRAPHICS THERE'S EVEN A NARRATIVE THAT HAS THE INFORMATION IN IT.
YOU ALSO CAN POST PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE WEBSITE.
SO AGAIN, THE COMMENT OF ANY RESIDENT WOULD BE AVAILABLE
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TO CBC BY EVERYONE.AND SOMETIMES IF WE GOT A PUBLIC COMMENT, WE WENT AHEAD AND PUT IT THERE SO THAT IT WOULD BE SEEN.
THE VIRGINIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT REQUIRES PUBLIC COMMENTS, BE TAKEN FOR 30 DAYS, BUT GOOCHLAND CHOSE TO GO FROM DECEMBER 17TH ALL THE WAY THROUGH TOMORROW, THE 1ST OF FEBRUARY, BECAUSE WE WERE AWARE THAT WHILE WE WANTED TO GET THIS DONE AND GET MOVING, OUR RESIDENTS WOULD BE BUSY WITH HOLIDAYS.
AND WE DIDN'T THINK THAT WE WANTED TO SHORTEN ANYBODY'S TIME OR ATTENTION TO PAY ATTENTION AND ASK QUESTIONS.
THE OTHER GREAT THING ABOUT THE WEBSITE IS THAT THERE'S A MAP ON THERE IN WHICH YOU CAN ACTUALLY PUT IN ADDRESS OF PROPERTY AND SEE WHAT IT IS SO THAT YOU'RE NOT JUST LOOKING ON THE, ON THE, YOU KNOW, SEEING, IF YOU CAN FIND YOUR ROAD, RANDY, DO YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW FOLKS HOW THAT WORKS? AND THEN ALSO APPEARS JUST IF YOU EMAIL US COMMENTS, WE GET THEM POSTED, BUT RANDY, GO AHEAD.
AND IF YOU COULD SHOW FOLKS HOW THAT WORKS.
WE'RE NOT ABLE TO HEAR YOU HEAR ME NOW.
RANDY, THE ID DIRECTOR, I'M PULLING UP THE REDISTRICTING WEBSITE.
THIS IS ON OUR MAIN WEBSITE UNDER THE REDUCING PAGE UNDER REDISTRICTING MAPS.
AND THERE'S AN EMBEDDED MAP THERE, BUT I'VE PULLED UP THE BIGGER ONE SO EVERYBODY COULD SEE IT A LITTLE BETTER WHEN YOU FIRST LAUNCH IT, IT COMES UP TO THIS SCREEN AND IT'S JUST A LITTLE DISCLAIMER.
AND YOU AGREE TO THAT DISCLAIMER, AND IT BRINGS UP SOME INFORMATION AND THE INFORMATION TAB OVER HERE ON THE RIGHT AND A WELCOME MESSAGE.
BUT THE ONE THING I WANT TO REALLY SHOW YOU IS THE SWEATER MAP.
AND THIS WAS MADE BY OUR GIS DEPARTMENT, JOHN MORLEY AND DV GEORGE.
AND THEY WORKED VERY HARD ON THE WHOLE TO REDISTRICT PROCESS AND THEY CREATED THIS COOL LITTLE MAP TO HELP CITIZENS OUT.
SO IF YOU HAVE THE SLIDER BAR UP, WHICH IS THIS ICON UP HERE IN THE TOP, RIGHT? AND YOU SLIDE IT ALL THE WAY OVER HERE, THIS SHOWS YOU THE PROPOSED DISTRICT IN DIFFERENT COLORS.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE ALL THE LAYERS IN BY CLICKING THE LAYER BUTTON HERE.
SO YOU HAVE THE PROPOSED BILL AND LOCATION, THE STATE OUTLINE EXISTING STATE LINES, THE DISTINCT DISTRICTS, AND THEN THE SHADED COLORS OF THE PROPOSED DISTRICTS GO BACK TO THE SLIDER.
AS YOU START, IF YOU HOLD DOWN ON THE SIDE AND START PULLING IT OVER, YOU'LL SEE THE PROPOSED DISTRICT LINES.
AND THE BLACK LINE IS YOUR EXISTING DISTRICT CLIENTS.
AND IT SHOWS SOME OTHER LAYERS AS WELL AS YOU PULL IT OVER.
AND THE OTHER COOL LITTLE THING YOU CAN DO IS, IS CLICK THE SEARCH BAR UP HERE IN THE TOP, RIGHT? AND YOU CAN START TYPING IN YOUR ADDRESS AND THE EASIEST WAY I'VE FOUND TO DO IT AT HIS BEST STREET NAME.
SO I'M JUST GOING TO USE SANDY HOOK AS AN EXAMPLE, IF YOU START TYPING IN SANDY HOOK, UH, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE, SOME OF THE ADDRESSES ON SANDY HOOK, UM, LISTED, AND I'M JUST GOING TO CHOOSE THIS ONE AS AN EXAMPLE, AND IT'LL ZOOM TO THAT ADDRESS AND IT POPS UP A LITTLE BOX AND IT SHOWS YOU SOME INFORMATION AREA.
IT SHOWS YOU THE ADDRESS, THE PROPOSED DISTRICT, UM, AND YOUR PROPOSED BRACING IN YOUR EXISTING BASE.
SO THIS ONE IS A GOOD EXAMPLE BECAUSE THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY CHANGING DISTRICTS.
UM, I THINK THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO SHOW EVERYBODY.
IT'S A COOL LITTLE APP AND I HOPE IT HELPS THE CITIZENS OUT.
AND THAT WAS RANDY BUZZARD, OUR IT DIRECTOR.
UM, I APPRECIATE HIM DOING THAT.
TECHNOLOGY IS NOT THE EASIEST FOR ME.
AND HE DOES A GREAT JOB AS DID THE IT FOLKS WHO CREATED THIS MAP AND THIS APP AND PUT IT ON OUR WEBSITE.
SO I MENTIONED THAT TODAY IS THE LAST OF SEVEN COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND THAT YOU CAN FIND OUT ANY INFORMATION FROM THAT CAME UP AT THOSE MEETINGS FROM OUR WEBSITE.
UM, THE, UM, COMMENTS I'VE MENTIONED ARE POSTED ON THE WEBSITE SO THAT YOU CAN FIND OUT EVERYTHING FROM PEOPLE WHO MADE COMMENTS TO EMAILS THAT WERE SENT, UM, THE PUBLIC, WE CREATED A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS DOCUMENT AND POSTED THAT TO THE WEBSITE.
AND THAT LITERALLY CAME TYPICALLY FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE ASKING QUESTIONS THAT WEREN'T NECESSARILY IN THE PUBLIC COMMENTS, BUT THEY MIGHT STILL ASK.
SO THERE'S HELPFUL INFORMATION IN OUR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.
ALL OF THIS RELATES TO GETTING THE PUBLIC'S INPUT, GETTING YOUR THOUGHTS AND ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS THROUGH TOMORROW NIGHT.
AND THEN WHAT NEXT, WELL NEXT WE WILL SHOW THE, UM, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, THE PUBLIC COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, OR REQUESTS THAT WE HAVE
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RECEIVED, AND STAFF WILL PRESENT TO THEM ON THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD ON FEBRUARY 22ND, THAT EVENING, UM, WHATEVER'S BEEN REQUESTED AS WELL AS THE TEAM HAS TRIED TO SEE, CAN WE MAKE THIS CHANGE? WOULD IT WORK? WHY WOULD IT, WHY WOULDN'T IT, WE'LL PRESENT THAT INFORMATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND ASK THEM TO MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHETHER IT'S A CHANGE THEY WANT TO DO TO THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP.AND THEY'LL GIVE US A DECISION THAT NIGHT AS TO THE ISSUES THAT HAVE COME UP, BECAUSE IF THEY'VE CHOOSE TO MAKE ANY CHANGES, THEN I'VE REVISED REDISTRICTING MAP WOULD BE POSTED, BE CREATED AND POSTED, AND IT BE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT FOR 15 DAYS.
SO THAT IF WE'VE MADE A CHANGE, YOU STILL GOING TO HAVE A CHANCE TO MAKE A COMMENT, MAKE A QUESTION.
UM, WE WANTED TO HAVE AN EXCEPTIONALLY TRANSPARENT PROCESS.
HOWEVER, WE ALSO HAVE SCHEDULED BEFORE THE BOARD, A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE AND ON THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP, WHETHER IT'S SUPERVISED ONE OR THE ONE WE HAVE TODAY FROM MARCH 15TH AT SIX O'CLOCK.
AND THAT IS THE OFFICIAL BOARD ORDINANCE PUBLIC HEARING, THE MAP AND ORDINANCE BY LAW WOULD BECOME EFFECTIVE 30 DAYS AFTER IT'S BEEN ADOPTED BY THE BOARD, WHICH WE HOPE WOULD BE ON MARCH 15TH, THEREFORE RESULTING IN A MAP THAT'S EFFECTIVE AS OF APRIL 15TH, YOU KNOW, TAX DAY.
UM, AND THAT MAY SOUND LIKE THAT'S A LONG TIME BEFORE WE NEED TO WORRY ABOUT AN ELECTION OR PEOPLE VOTING.
BUT OUR GENERAL REGISTRAR LET US KNOW ABSENTEE VOTING FOR THE JUNE 21ST PRIMARY.
IF THERE ARE ANY STARTS ON MAY 6TH.
SO APRIL 15TH GETS THIS DONE IN TIME, BUT IT'S NOT LIKE THERE'S A LONG TIME.
AND THE GENERAL REGISTRAR HAS ALSO MADE IT CLEAR THAT EVERYONE IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY WILL BE GETTING A NEW VOTER INFORMATION LETTER WITH ALL THE INFORMATION, BECAUSE EVEN IF YOUR LOCAL ELECTION DISTRICT MIGHT NOT HAVE CHANGED, LIKE THERE WEREN'T REALLY ANY CHANGES TO DISTRICT ONE.
THERE HAVE BEEN CHANGES IN BOTH THE STEADY STATE AND FEDERAL DISTRICTS.
SO EVERYONE BE GETTING NEW INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR VOTING.
SO THE LAST THING I'M GOING TO DO IS MAKE SURE IF THERE ARE ALREADY QUESTIONS, BOTH FOR OUR FOLKS WHO ARE ON ZOOM, AS WELL AS IN THE ROOM, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, RAISE YOUR HAND.
I'M HAPPY TO BRING YOU THE MICROPHONE WE'LL ANSWER ANYTHING.
WE CAN DIRECT YOU TO WHERE THERE MAY BE MORE INFORMATION AND I'M HAPPY TO HEAR FROM YOU.
SO I'M GOING TO START WITH THE FOLKS IN THE ROOM AND IF THERE'S ANYBODY ON ZOOM AND RAISES A HAND, WE'LL GET TO THEM IN A MINUTE.
PAUL'S GETTING UP AND RAISING HIS HAND, BUT HE'S WITH THE COUNTY.
HE'S NOT ASKING FOR THAT MEXICO AROUND.
IS THERE ANYONE ELSE, SANDY? AND IF YOU WOULD GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS AS YOU TYPICALLY DO I SANDRA WARWICK 17, UH, NO, 360 7 SWINBURNE ROAD MANNEQUIN SABEN I HAVE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS AND ONE QUESTION, UM, TO SUMMARIZE IN 2022, UM, THE TOTAL COUNTY WILL BE IN A DISTRICT, A DIFFERENT US CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
THAT WILL BE THE ONLY CHANGE FOR VOTING IN 2022.
AND SOME PEOPLE WILL VOTE IN DIFFERENT PRECINCTS.
IS THAT CORRECT? LUCKILY, OUR GENERAL REGISTRAR, RYAN MULLIGAN IS HERE.
AND SINCE MY KNOWLEDGE IS BEST AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, RYAN'S THE BEST FOR THE WHOLE COLLECTION.
IT DEPENDS ON, ARE YOU MEANING JUST AS FAR AS WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON IN 2020? CORRECT.
SO AS OF NOW, THE ONLY THING ON THE BALLOT IN 2022 IS US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WHICH WOULD BE, UH, FERGUSON COUNTY CHANGING FROM THE SEVENTH TO THE FIFTH.
UM, DOES THIS PLAN NEED APPROVAL FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BEFORE IT GOES INTO EFFECT? UH, YOU CAN SPEAK THAT, BUT, UH, NO, BECAUSE THERE'S TWO WAYS YOU CAN GET CHANGES LIKE THIS MADE ONE BEING GOING THROUGH THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, LIKE WE WERE DOING OR GETTING THE AG OPINION OR THE AGS, UM, APPROVAL.
UM, THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER COMMENTS THAT, UM, KINLOCK SHOULD BE IN DISTRICT FIVE RATHER THAN DISTRICT FOUR.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT UNTIL THE JET ON THE TOUGH OF COAL CREEK SERVICE DISTRICT, UH, WHICH INCLUDES ALL OF KINLOCK IS RETIRED.
I BELIEVE KENALOG IS BEST SERVED IN DISTRICT FOUR WHERE A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE IN THE TCSD ARE LOCATED.
UM, AND SINCE A COUPLE OF SUPERVISORS AND I BELIEVE A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER WILL NO LONGER LIVE IN THE DISTRICT WHERE THEY WERE FROM, WHERE THEY ORIGINALLY ELECTED.
UM, I'M ASSUMING ARE GOOD BOARD MEMBERS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE THEIR WORK TO REPRESENT ALL OF THE CITIZENS.
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UM, BUT SOME OF US FEEL A LITTLE DISENFRANCHISED BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A SUPERVISOR ANYMORE.UH, AND THAT'S JUST, UH, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK PEOPLE.
UM, EVERYBODY AT SANITY, EVERYBODY HAS A SUPERVISOR YOU'RE CURRENTLY ELECTED SUPERVISORS CONTINUE TO REPRESENT THE EXACT SAME PEOPLE UNTIL A NEW ELECTION IS HELD BEFORE LOCAL.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND FOR DOING ALL THIS HARD WORK.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT POST AT THE BIKE.
ANYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM? PAUL COSTELLO, 2 0 1, 1 SYCAMORE CREEK DRIVE MANNEQUIN SABBATH.
I THINK SANDY JUST COVERED ALL OF MY POINTS.
I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THE SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT SHE MADE, UM, AS RECOMMENDATIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PAUL, IS THERE ANYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM WHO'D LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT QUESTION? ANYTHING? JUST GIVE US A MINUTE TO GET THE MIC OVER.
DAVID SWIFT, UH, GROCERY, VIRGINIA.
HOW WAS IT GOING TO WORK WITH THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS THAT THIS MAP IS APPROVED? HOW WILL WE BE REPRESENTED? MAYBE YOU CAN EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE, LITTLE BIT.
THE STATE LAW PROVIDES THAT THE FOLKS IN OFFICE TODAY CONTINUE TO REPRESENT THE DISTRICT THAT VOTED THEM IN THOSE CITIZENS.
YOU DON'T ELECT A NEW SUPERVISOR BASED ON THE PROPOSED OR THE ADOPTED REDISTRICTING MAP UNTIL THE NEXT LOCAL ELECTION.
SO INITIALLY WHAT CHANGES AS SANDY MENTIONED FOR 2022 IS YOU MIGHT GO TO A DIFFERENT POLLING PLACE AND YOU WOULD VOTE FOR DIFFERENT DISTRICT FOR FEDERAL.
THERE MAY BE ANOTHER ELECTION WHERE YOU VOTE IN A DIFFERENT DISTRICT FOR STATE, BUT YOU ARE REPRESENTED BY YOUR SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND YOUR MORTAR SUPERVISORS MEMBERS AS YOU ARE TODAY UNTIL THE NEXT LOCAL ELECTION IN 2023.
IS THERE ANYONE ON ZOOM WHO HAS THEIR HANDS RAISED? OKAY.
CAN YOU CALL ON THAT PERSON, PLEASE GO AHEAD AND UNMUTE YOURSELF.
AND IF YOU MIGHT NEED TO TURN DOWN YOUR VOLUME SO THAT YOU DON'T GET FEEDBACK.
ARE YOU GETTING FEEDBACK NOW, TARA? YEAH.
UM, WHEN HOBBES 30, 55 TRAMP ACROSS THE WAY, AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE REDISTRICT.
THANK YOU TO THE REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE FOR TAKING ON SUCH A MONUMENTAL TASK.
UM, UM, A VIEW OF THE MAPS SHOWS THAT SOME ROWS ARE STILL SPLIT BETWEEN DISTRICT PARTICULAR, CEDAR, PLAIN, THAT YOU MENTIONED, AND A COUPLE OF OTHER ONES, HOWEVER, THE PROPOSED MAPS ARE NOTICEABLY AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE EXISTING BOUNDARIES.
AND SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING THE FEEDBACK THAT I KNOW I DISCUSSED WITH YOU ON THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITIES WITH SPLIT ROLES.
BUT I THINK ALSO I WANT TO MAKE THE COMMENT THAT WHILE WE MAY NOT BE, EVERYBODY MAY NOT BE IN SUBDIVISION, A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITIES ON ROADS, OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND, AND I THINK THAT YOUR EFFORT AND KEEPING PEOPLE TO GATHER BY, BY THEIR ROADS WAS, IS COMMENDABLE.
THE ONE THING THAT I WOULD ALSO ASK IS THAT WE PUT IN THE SAME EFFORTS AND RESOURCES THAT WE USE FOR THE BOND REFERENDUM TO INFORM THE RESIDENT OF THEIR CURRENT, THEIR NEW DISTRICT AND THEIR REPRESENTATIVES AT THE LOCAL STATE AND NATIONAL LEVEL.
UM, WE ASKED THAT THE COUNTY LEADERSHIP INSURED NOTICES ARE IN THE PAPER ON SOCIAL MEDIA, THE POSTCARDS LIKE YOU DID BEFORE, IN ADDITION TO THE LETTERS THAT MR. MULLEN WILL BE SENDING.
UM, ALSO WE, WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE WEBSITE, BUT IT'S CRUCIAL AS THIS INFORMATION IS IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THOSE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE THE WEBSITE BE IT BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT IT, OR MAYBE THEY ARE ELDERLY AND DON'T USE THE WEBSITE THAT WE HAVE A MEANS OF GETTING THIS INFORMATION TO THEM AND NOT JUST THEY'RE REGISTERED, THEY ARE NEW REGISTRATION, VOTER'S REGISTRATION CARD.
UM, AGAIN, AS A THANK YOU GUYS FOR A JOB WELL DONE.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR, UM, APPRECIATION THOUGH.
I LAUGH WHEN YOU THINK IT'S FOR UNDERTAKING THE TASK.
I MEAN THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY CHOICE ON, WE HOPE THAT WE DID A GOOD JOB.
THAT WAS WHAT WAS IMPORTANT TO US, UM, TO GET IT RIGHT.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU DID FIND THE, THE MAPS, A NOTICEABLE IMPROVEMENT.
UM, WE TALKED EARLIER TODAY IN A MEETING
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ABOUT THOSE COMMUNICATIONS THAT ARE NEEDED AND, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR GENERAL REGISTRAR SPOKE ABOUT THE VOTERS INFORMATION THAT DOES GO TO EVERY SINGLE HOUSEHOLD TO LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CHANGES.AND WE CERTAINLY CAN PUT IN, LIKE IN THE PAPER, I NOTICE ABOUT, UM, THE FACT THAT YOU SHOULD BE GETTING YOUR VOTER INFORMATION AND A REFERENCE TO THE WEBSITE.
WHAT WILL BE DIFFICULT IS UNLIKE THE REFERENDUM, WHEN WE HAD THE TEXT OF ONE POSTCARD AND WE SENT IT OUT TO EVERY ADDRESS IN GOOCHLAND THAT WON'T WORK FOR THIS, WE DID LET EVERYBODY KNOW ABOUT THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT WAY, SO THAT NOBODY HAD TO RELY ON AN INTERNET OR SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THAT.
BUT WE CAN'T PERSONALIZE EACH POSTCARD THAT WILL BE IN THE LETTER THAT GOES TO EVERYONE.
SO WE ARE TAKING A MAILING TO EVERY SINGLE REGISTERED VOTER WITH ALL THEIR NEW INFORMATION.
AND YES, WE'RE GOING TO PUT SOME INFORMATION IN GOOGLE DOES THAT AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO TRY AND LET PEOPLE KNOW.
WE'VE ALSO TALKED ABOUT MAKING THESE REDISTRICTING MAPS AVAILABLE IN A PUBLIC LOCATION, AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY AND WORK ON THAT TOO.
SO WE, WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOUR THOUGHT ABOUT HAVING US REACH OUT TO ALL RESIDENTS THROUGH A VARIETY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND WE ARE PREPARED TO DO ALL THAT WE CAN SO THAT FOLKS KNOW THAT WE APPRECIATE THAT.
IS THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM ZOOM OR IN THE ROOM? WELL, FOLKS, WE ARE HAPPY TO HAVE, UM, ANSWERED YOUR QUESTIONS.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR ENGAGEMENT ON THIS ISSUE THAT IS IMPORTANT TO GOOCHLAND COUNTY.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO POST A COMMENT OR ASK A QUESTION, SEND US AN EMAIL.
WE'D STILL PREFER TO HEAR FROM YOU.
AND HE SAID, IF YOU JUST NEED HELP FINDING YOUR ADDRESS, I MEAN, RANDY'S A PRO.
AND I THINK THE APP THAT THEY CREATED IS ANYBODY CAN EVEN, I CAN USE IT.
I'M JUST NOT COMFORTABLE DEMONSTRATING IT TO YOU, BUT WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING ENGAGED IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY'S REDISTRICTING PROCESS.