It will be after the coming round of elections before Lowndes County officially redraws its district lines. And for 2011, county officials will run for election under the old lines.
Lowndes County Administrator Ralph Billingsley got a notice from the county”s redistricting consultant, Chris Watson, last week, informing the county of a delay in pushing through a redistricting plan approved by supervisors in April. The U.S. Department of Justice had additional questions, and those won”t be resolved in time to make the lines official before the Aug. 2 primaries. The general election is Nov. 8.
The Justice Department reviews redistricting plans to ensure they are fair to minorities and population is evenly distributed. Plans have to pass the Justice Department smell test at least 60 days prior to elections. (Today is 55 days away from the primary elections.)
“There”s nothing wrong, I don”t think, with our redistricting plan. It”s just that they are not going to be able to sign off on it by that 60-day time frame,” said Harry Sanders, Board of Supervisors president.
“They didn”t get it in time for the circuit clerk”s office to get everything lined up and people changed,” Billingsley said.
Watson, a consultant with Bridge and Watson of Oxford, could not be reached this morning to offer details of the Justice Department”s requests.
At least one of the requests was the racial makeup of the justice court/constable districts, Sanders said.
It is unclear whether this development will mean a new election, under new lines, in 2012. However, if anyone contests the validity of an election under the old lines, another election is likely. And Supervisor Leroy Brooks already has pledged to fight the redistricting plan, which he voted against, because it diluted the minority voter strength in District 5, the district he supervises, and packs minority voters in District 4, which Jeff Smith oversees.
The redistricting plan takes District 5, one of two black-majority districts, from a current 63.5-percent black majority to 62 percent. District 4, the other black-majority district, remains 79.4-percent black, which Brooks says is too high.
The Lowndes County chapter of the NAACP, the Lowndes County League of Voters, the Lowndes County Democratic Executive Committee, Columbus City Councilman Kabir Karriem, Crawford Mayor Fred Tolon and several black ministers also have contested the redistricting plan, for the same reasons.
“The board had adequate time to hire someone to construct a plan and submit it (earlier). They just didn”t,” said Brooks.
The county received its new census information in February and voted to hire Watson in 2010, Brooks said, but “acted irresponsible in delaying everything for this.”
“The downside of this is someone could opt to sue, based on the one man, one vote (constitutional premise), and we could have to run again in 2012,” Brooks said.
Brooks submitted a formal complaint about the county”s redistricting plan to the Justice Department.
“Once Leroy protested it, there was absolutely no hope for us to do it (in time for the elections),” Sanders said.
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