Res 076-2021 Establishing Criteria for Redistricting of Political Boundaries 07/20/2021 Resolution No. 76-2021
Resolution Establishing Criteria for Redistricting of Political Boundaries
WHEREAS, under the provisions of the Texas Constitution and federal law, the
governing body of a political entity with legislative authority and members elected from
single member districts is responsible for the division of the political entity into precincts,
districts, or wards, and to conduct periodic reapportionment of such single member
districts to accomplish fair representation and one-person-one-vote balance; and
WHEREAS, the City of Wichita Falls has contracted with Allison, Bass, and
McGee, L.L.P. to provide all necessary services to successfully complete all redistricting
projects; and
WHEREAS, the City of Wichita Falls must establish criteria for redistricting of
political boundaries.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, THAT:
The attached order Establishing Criteria for Redistricting of Political Boundaries is
hereby adopted.
PASSED AND APPROVED this the 20th day of July, 2021.
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MAYOR
ATTEST:
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City Clerk
ESTABLISHING CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING OF POLITICAL BOUNDARIES
The city council for the City of Wichita Falls, Texas, meeting in a duly scheduled
and posted meeting, does hereby adopt the following criteria for use in the redistricting
of all City political boundaries.
Any plan for the redistricting of the single-member districts from which
representative members of the executive body of the City of Wichita Falls are elected
should, to the maximum extent possible, conform to the following criteria:
1. The plan should ensure that all applicable provisions of the U.S. and Texas
Constitutions, the Voting Rights Act, and the Texas Election Code are honored.
2. The plan should be drawn in such a manner that the maximum deviation from
an ideal size, as determined by dividing the total population of the city by the
number of single member districts that compose the City Council of the City of
Wichita Falls be not more than plus or minus five (5%) percent for any individual
single member district, or a total top to bottom deviation (percentage of deviation
below and above the ideal size) between the most populated district and the
least populated district by not more than a maximum deviation of no more than
ten (10%) percent.
3. The plan should address minority representation, and if at all possible, in
conformity with constitutional standards, avoid retrogression in the percentage
of population and voting age demographics consistent with existing minority
representation.
4. The plan should, avoid fragmentation and preserve minority communities of
interest to the maximum extent possible. These communities of interest should
be recognized and retained intact where possible. Only when the overall minority
population of the county is sufficiently large to require more than one minority
district should minority populations be divided, and only then to the least degree
possible.
5. The plan should not, however, attempt to unreasonably join geographically
remote minority populations into a single precinct unless there are strong and
genuine connections between these communities as reflected by common
schools, churches, or cultural ties. For example, minority populations in two
separate neighborhoods, located miles apart, may not have sufficient links or
common political cohesion to justify joining these two minority population centers
into a single electoral group. Particularly when dealing with distinct minority
groups, such as Black and Hispanic populations, a general assumption that
separate minority populations will vote in a "block" may be unsupportable in fact.
6. The plan should seek compact and contiguous political boundaries. Physical
boundaries of cultural or economic significance, such as rivers, multi-lane
control access highways or turnpikes, which tend to divide populations in
fundamental ways, should be recognized and where possible, should only serve
as necessary to achieve recognized objectives. Communities of interest should
be retained intact where possible. To the maximum extent possible, clearly
recognized boundaries, such as streets and highways, should be used to
facilitate ease of voter identification of boundaries, as well as election
administration.
7. Where possible, well-recognized and long used election precinct boundaries
should be retained intact (within the limitations imposed by state and federal law)
or with as little alteration as possible.
8. Election precincts in the plan should be sized in conformity with state law. For
example, in counties that use traditional, hand counted paper ballots, no election
precinct may contain more than 2000 voters. In jurisdictions with voting systems
that allow for automated ballot counting, this number may be increased to as many
as 5000 registered voters.
9. The plan should afford incumbent office holders with the assurance that they will
continue to represent the majority of individuals who elected these incumbents,
and all incumbents' residential locations should be retained in their reformed
precincts to ensure continuity in leadership during the remaining term of
incumbents to the extent possible.
10. The plan should address fundamental and necessary governmental functions,
and to the extent possible, ensure that these functions are enhanced rather than
impaired. Election administration should not be unduly complex as a result of
election boundaries.
11. The plan should attempt to locate polling places in convenient, well-known
locations that are accessible to disabled voters to the maximum extent possible.
Public buildings should be utilized to the maximum extent possible as polling
places. Where necessary, buildings routinely open to the public, such as
churches, retail businesses, or private buildings dedicated to public activities,
can be used as polling places.
12. If the reduction of polling places can be accomplished, without impinging upon
voter convenience and minority voting rights, such reductions can be
considered.
13. Citizen input should be encouraged, but in order to minimize cost and to have
sufficient information to evaluate such proposals fairly, the City will only consider
proposed plans submitted to the City for evaluation by individual citizens or
groups if the proposed plan is submitted to the City in a commonly used GIS
format, such as .SHP, .MAP, .KLM, .GPX, .MDB, along with maps and
demographic data sufficient to address voting rights concerns.
The foregoing criteria are deemed to be illustrative, but not exclusive, examples
of fundamentally important issues, which should be considered in any redistricting plan.
Therefore, the City Council of the City of Wichita Falls expresses its intention to
measure any plan submitted for consideration by this set of criteria, and to base any
eventual exercise of discretion upon the foregoing criteria.
The criteria approved this date were considered in an open session of the City
of Wichita Falls City Council meeting, following posting not less than 72 hours before
any action taken on the same. Upon motion by Councilor Browning, second by
Councilor Chenault, the City Council of the City of Wichita Falls hereby adopts the
criteria set forth herein with a vote of 7 to 0.
Signed this 20th day of July, 2021.
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ayor
Attest:
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City Clerk