The numbers are in, and based on current census data, Fisher County will be redrawing commissioner precinct boundaries before the upcoming primary elections. A public hearing is scheduled to be held just before next week’s regular meeting of the court on Monday.
In a special-called meeting early last week, the Fisher County Commissioners Court reviewed the most recent census data, which showed a deviation in voter population of more than 33% between the largest and smallest precincts. As the only allows for a maximum deviation between precincts of 10%, the county will be looking at redrawing precinct boundaries for the first time in more than two decades.
Precincts are established to be compliant with the “one-person-one-vote" standards, as opposed to the cumulative voting standards adopted by entities like the City of Rotan and Rotan ISD. Cumulative voting allows each voter to cast votes based on the number of available seats to fill during an election cycle.
For example, if a school board that consists of a total of seven officials has four seats up for election, each voter would be able to cast a total of four votes. Each of these four votes could be divided among four separate candidates, or a voter could cast four votes for a single candidate.
As the county falls under the former of the two standards, each person gets one vote. Therefore, the goal of redistricting would be to have each of the four, county precincts reflect roughly one-quarter of the population based on current census data. As the new data revealed a total population of 3,672, the goal would be to have each precinct representing 918 voters.
That most recent data — which was significantly delayed in 2020 due to the spread of COVID-19 — showed the current precinct boundaries showed s significant deviation in voter representation among precincts.
“I was expecting us to be around 10% or 15% off, but we were 33%,” said Fisher County Clerk Pat Thomson, when presenting the court with the data and proposed maps during last week’s special meeting.
The most underrepresented precinct, Precinct 3 represented only 769 voters. This is compared to Precinct 4, which represents 1,075 voters. Commissioners of each of those respective precincts focused the discussion on the adjustment to the milage of county roads they will be responsible for, not the deviation in voter representation.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Preston Martin asked if the law firm the county has been working with on the matter was going to assure the miles of road within each precinct would also be equitable. Martin reminded the court that one issue not addressed during budgeting this year was the length of roads in any given precinct, saying he thinks the miles of roads should also be worked out during the redistricting process to divide mileage equitably among commissioners.
The county has been working with Allison, Bass, and Magee — a law firm that specializes in concentration on representing government entities in dealing with state and federal agencies and assisting county governments lawfully redraw district maps— since the new census data was released.
Much to the dismay of Martin and Precinct 4 Commissioner Kevin Stuart, there is no law regarding the length of roads within a precinct boundary, and the concern for balancing road milage was secondary to that of the numerical balancing of voters to be compliant with the Voting Rights Act.
Fisher County Judge Ken Holt assured the commissioners they would have every opportunity to make adjustments to the miles of roads and which commissioner would be responsible for their maintenance at any time in the future.
It is unknown whether the court will revisit the consideration of a centralized road and bridge department that would be responsible for all county roads. Possibly transitioning into a single road maintenance department was a concept proposed earlier this year by Commissioner Gordon Pippin, but it gained little traction in the court.
Regardless of roads, the proposed redistricting maps could make for significant changes for voters in parts of Roby and Rotan as well as all voters in the town of McCaulley.
Voters in Rotan that had fallen within Precinct 1 could soon be in either Precinct 2 or Precinct 3. Additionally, the entirety of McCaulley would likely be within Precinct 1 boundaries, and new lines may also have Precinct 1 absorbing portions of the City of Roby that has voted in Pricinct 4.
In its correspondence with the county, the firm assured public officials and voters alike that redrawing boundary lines has the singular purpose of achieving the smallest possible deviation representation between precincts, adding that it should be viewed as a plan for future growth and population shifts moving into the future.
County officials will be hosting a public hearing on the redistricting issue, presenting current census data, and formally reviewing maps on Monday. The floor will be open for public comment and will provide citizens with an opportunity to ask questions regarding the process, the data, or the newly drawn maps before the court takes action on whether or not to approve the new district boundaries.