Redistricting and Reapportionment: What is it – and How Does it Affect YOU?

Reapportionment vs. Redistricting

The U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 2 – establishes reapportionment based on a national census conducted every 10 years for allocating U.S. House of Representatives; the first census was taken in 1790.

Apportionment or Reapportionment refers to the allocation of seats among units, such as Congressional seats among the states or Legislative seats among the counties. For example, Florida was allocated two additional Congressional seats following the 2010 Census, bringing our total to 27 representatives for our 18.8 million population.
 
The U.S. Constitution also requires states to periodically redraw electoral district lines to account for population shifts.

The Role of the Legislature

The Legislature’s role in redistricting is to redraw district lines with respect to the ideal populations for each district. The Florida House and Senate Committees on Redistricting have therefore determined the ideal populations for our 27 Congressional seats, 40 State Senate seats and 120 State House seats based on the U.S. Census population statistics for the State of Florida.
 
The Legislature is charged with adopting a joint resolution with the new federal and state districts before the end of its 2012 regular session (January 10-March 9, 2012). In order for these new district lines to take effect, the Florida Attorney General must petition the Florida Supreme Court for a declaratory statement within 15 days of the adoption of the joint resolution; the Florida Supreme Court must enter judgment within 30 days after the petition; and the U.S. Department of Justice must review the lines within 60 days. If all entities approve, the district lines will be in effect until the next year of redistricting in 2022.

The Role of the Supervisor of Elections

Part of the Supervisor of Elections’ role in redistricting is to review and provide suggestions for the county’s Voting Tabulation Districts to the Senate Committee on Reapportionment. This process, which was completed in 2009, is designed to help keep areas such as subdivisions and apartment complexes within cohesive districts.
 
In January 2011, the Supervisor received TIGER files (topologically integrated geographic encoding and referencing files) from the U.S. Census Bureau. These files include roads, railroads, waterways, etc. and will be compared with the county parcel maps for accuracy through the end of 2011. County polling places will also be added to the files to help plan for any possible changes in locations. Any suggested changes or corrections will be submitted to the Legislature.
 
The Supervisor of Elections is available to assist any county or municipal government entities in redrawing district lines within the county.
 
The Supervisor also will redraw precinct lines within all districts throughout the county as needed, and submit all changes to the Board of County Commissioners for approval.
 
The Supervisor is required to notify the Secretary of State within 30 days of any precinct changes and furnish a map with the precinct boundaries.
 
Once all precinct and district lines are finalized, the Supervisor will update all voter files and will mail new voter information cards with updated information to all registered voters.

The Role of the Board of County Commissioners, School Board, Municipalities

As the federal and state district lines are being redrawn, the Board of County Commissioners, School Board and municipalities with single-member districts redraw their district lines where population has shifted as well.
 
Florida State Statute 124 prescribes the process for redistricting to include ensuring equitable populations. Manatee County Geographic Information Systems (GIS) staff used U.S. Census data to produce a first run at district maps based on populations.  The direction provided to staff included balancing district population while maintaining as nearly as possible the existing demographic balance.  The proposed districts were drawn based on existing districts, and modified based on geographic lines and natural and manmade demarcations.
 
Manatee's District 5 currently has the smallest population (and the largest land mass). That population variance is due to growth that was anticipated when boundaries were redrawn in 2005.  With the slowdown in growth, those numbers did not come to fruition and that district had over 13,000 fewer residents than did District 1.  With the proposed districts the population range is less that 2000 residents. 
 
The proposed districts were reviewed by the Supervisor of Elections to ensure precinct boundaries were kept intact, and then reviewed again, and lines redrawn.
 
Redistricting maps will be presented for discussion and public input in coming months. This iteration has balanced populations and follows lines that are both contiguous and sensible. Staff believes that the proposed boundaries meet both legal and logical standards.

What Voters Can Expect

Voters can participate in the process by attending public hearings from July through October 2011. The schedule is posted under “Meeting Calendar” on the Florida House Committee on Redistricting Web site. The Florida Legislature has set a local hearing on redistricting boundaries for Aug. 30, 2011 at 6 p.m. at New College's Sudakoff Center, 5845 General Dougher Place. The public is invited to take part in the conversation during the hearing, the only one set for Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties.
 
Voters can use MyDistrictBuilder to submit ideas for district lines, an online program available on the Florida House Committee on Redistricting Web site or the Florida Senate Committee on Reapportionment's Web site.
 
Voters can also share ideas with their state representatives and state senators by telephone, fax or email. A handy list of contact information for elected officials is available on the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections web site.
 
For more information and updates, visit the Florida House Committee on Redistricting Web site or the Florida Senate Committee on Reapportionment's Web site.
    
 

Timeline from the Senate Committee on Reapportionment

The redistricting timeline for 2012 (PDF) is very critical in relation to the federal and state candidate qualifying period (June 4-8) as well as the August 14 Primary Election. If the district lines are delayed or rejected at any level of the approval process, candidates may not know which precincts are in their districts at the time of qualifying, and county supervisors will have difficulty mailing overseas and military ballots for the Primary by the legal deadline of June 30.

Sources: John Guthrie, Florida Senate Committee on Reapportionment, Florida Senate Committee on Reapportionment Web site, Florida House Committee on Redistricting Web site