Law Requires County To Undergo Voter Reapportionment: Here Is One Scenario

Magistrates To Vote On Final Changes

A proposed map of reapportionment for voting districts, presented at Monday's fiscal court.

Darren Doyle, story:
Edmonson County will see a reapportionment of magisterial districts, as required by state law, after the U.S. Census, every ten years. The purpose is to ensure the districts are spread as equally as possible, according to population.

At Monday's Edmonson County Fiscal Court meeting, members of the Edmonson County Reapportionment Committee, appointed by Judge/Executive Scott Lindsey and the Edmonson County Fiscal Court, presented their recommended reapportionment option to the court, along with Edmonson County Clerk Kevin Alexander.
 
Reapportionment is required every ten years pursuant to KRS 67.045, when census data is used to reestablish boundary lines of magistrate districts.  In addressing the Court, Clerk Alexander and Reapportionment Committee Chairman Timmy Davis discussed the difficult nature of performing such a task, while also thanking the Court for committing to using the BRADD office’s staff and mapping software.
 
“A clerk’s role in this process is to provide the data to the committee, offer options, and answer questions, but I don’t have a vote” Alexander noted. 
 
He said he felt it was important to convey to the members some issues his office had been made aware of over the last eight years, as well.  In their meetings, Alexander said he presented six options to the committee, also comprised of Chris Brooks and Wes Davis. 
 
“We looked at a four-district option, a five-district option, and three six-district options at our first meeting” Alexander said.  “Everyone was in agreement to leave it as a six-district scenario, but we knew that due to the growth in the southern end of the county, significant changes would be necessary.”
 
One difficult task was ensuring that there was a 10% or less deviation from the largest district in the county to smallest. Literally, every person counts and one household can make a difference.
 
The presented option resulted in the most significant changes being in Districts 2, 4, and 5. 
 
“With the numbers we were using, it was decided that putting the entire city of Brownsville into one magisterial district was possible," he said, even though they realize the city expands on both sides of the Green River.

Enlarged versions of each proposed change:

Proposed reapportionment population numbers.

With new houses going up every day in the southern area of the county, including several new developments and apartment complexes, the committee must anticipate the change in population as best they can. Alexander said this recommendation will allow for the anticipated growth in that area, which may keep future reapportionment from being as significant.
 
“No one likes to have to offer changes like this.  We’ve had some growth already in Chalybeate, and much more in coming.  It is just the numbers we were dealt with.”
 
Alexander added that the committee was great to work with.
 
“Great guys.  All three of them.  You’ve got to be civic-minded to agree to be on a committee like this.  I appreciate getting to work along with each of them.”
 
An ordinance will now be presented at the next Fiscal Court meeting, which will require two readings to pass.  In the event the Fiscal Court chooses not to approve this recommended option, they will form a committee among the Court members to create their own districts.  If the option does pass, it will go into effect after the November General Election and the Edmonson County Election Board will be tasked with making any changes to polling places and precinct lines. Anyway you look at it, many county voters will be voting in a different district and at a different polling place soon, and no one at the local level can change that.
 
“We did the very best we could on this” Alexander said.

Judge Lindsey reiterated that these changes are not only required by law, but are based on population, only.

"It has nothing to do with specific locations or mileage of roads in a district," he said. "This is population-based, only."