Raleigh leaders propose new district map for city council elections. Could yours change?
The 2020 Census is bringing changes to how Raleigh elects its city leaders.
The city added more than 60,000 people in the last decade, leaving Raleigh leaders the task of creating new City Council districts and deciding whether to add a ninth seat.
The council picked the second of three possible district maps by a 7-0 vote this week. Council member David Cox was not present for that portion of the meeting.
The preferred map adds people to Districts A (north Raleigh) and District C (southeast Raleigh).
It pulls people from District B (northeast Raleigh), District D (southwest Raleigh) and District E (northwest Raleigh).
In addition to the five district seats, the council has two at-large seats and the mayor, who is also elected at large, or by all voters.
“It was the most balanced that I felt we could do,” Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said of option two, the preferred map “Especially since we don’t know if we’re going to create another district, in which case next year, other districts will be redrawn anyhow. So this seemed to be the one that would move the needle. But it didn’t shake it up so much to cause confusion.”
The five district council seats must be redrawn after each U.S. Census to ensure they represent roughly equal populations.
The preferred map moves precincts between Districts A and B and between B and C, with each losing and gaining a precinct to the other.
District C loses a precinct to District D, while District D loses a precinct to District E and District E loses a precinct to District A.
The racial diversity of the districts “is largely maintained,” however two precincts that are moving are moving to less diverse districts.
The city will hold a public hearing on March 1 to get community feedback on the proposed district map.
Adding a ninth seat
In addition to the district maps, Raleigh leaders recently sought public input on whether to add a seat to the council, increase council terms from two to four years, and pay council members and the mayor more money.
Given the even number of council members now, controversial decisions can sometimes end in a 4-4 deadlock with no easy tiebreaker.
At the council meeting Tuesday, there was no discussion about adding a seat and whether that seat should be elected at large or by district, which would require the districts to be redrawn again.
In an interview, Baldwin said the council won’t consider adding a seat until 2023 for the 2024 elections.
Confused? Go to the city’s website, raleighnc.gov, and search redistricting to type in your address and see if your voting precinct would move under the proposed option.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 1:07 PM.
