Excerpted from an article By Zachary Hansen, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DeKalb County’s most populous city decided to redraw its four council districts before November’s elections, but they did so without 2020 U.S. Census data. Due to the pandemic, the full dataset won’t be available until September, which is well after the state’s May 6 redistricting deadline.
During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, City Attorney Chris Balch explained why the city is taking this approach. Brookhaven, founded in 2012, has never reevaluated its districts despite multiple annexations east of I-85, leaving its population of 53,000 unevenly represented.
“That black hole creates a problem for the city, particularly when we suspected, reasonably I believe, that the districts were out of alignment and likely illegal,” Balch said, referring to the varying populations of each district. Georgia only gives a 10% margin for error with populations.
Chris Balch
[cont. from article] Balch said the city could redraw district lines again if Census data is “significantly different” from FLO Analytics’ calculations and estimates. But the new map will stand for at least the next election cycle.
By Zachary Hansen, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
