What is school system redistricting and why should you care?

April, 22, 2011 , by Andrew

The true purpose of redistricting is to make adjustments for imbalances in population so that each voting district is roughly of equal size in order to comply with the one-person, one-vote requirement of the U.S. and North Carolina Constitutions. Every 10 years, district lines are redrawn in accordance with updated U.S. Census results.

Redistricting must also uphold a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, Section 2, that protects minority voters from practices and procedures that deprive them of an effective vote because of their race, color, or membership in a particular language minority group.

Wake County School Board members have the authority to redraw their own districts, without state or federal review, and new redistricting plans are not required to be finalized until the opening day for candidates filing to run for School Board. Most local Boards of Elections ask for at least a 30-day notice in order to update computer systems and databases.

Allowing for adequate time to implement changes in the voter database saves money and reduces errors at the Wake Board of Elections office. The Board of Education should work diligently to (1) ensure citizens have adequate time to review proposed redistricting and offer their opinions in a public forum, and (2) give potential candidates as much time as possible to determine which district they reside in and plan whether to run for office, once redistricting is completed.

Further, when a voting precinct gets too large, it creates issues for the Board of Elections. If there are too many voters, one polling place simply cannot accommodate all voters efficiently on Election Day. In order to redraw lines accurately, one needs to see how precincts are going to be divided to comply with all redistricting laws and guidelines. Understanding which precincts will be divided also gives the Board of Elections time to secure the funds needed to establish new polling places and secure the necessary equipment for these additional sites.

To learn more about School Board redistricting and to review proposed redistricting alternatives, please visit the Great Schools in Wake website.

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Elections Wake County School Board Wake Board of Elections

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ct
04/23 01:43 PM

Strictly speaking, it’s incorrect to say that the board may “redraw their own districts, without state or federal review”. What they meant to say is that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act does not impose “preclearance” on the Wake County board. However, an aggrieved citizen can always sue the Board under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act if the redistricts are redrawn in violation of the Act.
WILLNCSU
04/23 04:34 PM

Cant wait for all the ridiculous lawsuits that will come no matter how the districts are changed. Its just gotten way too political by both sides.
ct
04/23 05:24 PM

No more political than it ever has been—at least in a state or county where both parties are functional. Gerrymandering in the U.S. dates back to 1812. You didn’t see much redistricting controversy in the South for a long time because it was overwhelmingly Democratic (those who were allowed to vote, that is).
Bill
04/25 03:11 PM

http://www.wcpss.net/Board/maps.html

If you don’t think there was a lot of gerrymandering before, check out the map of the current districts. There isn’t a straight line on the map.

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What is school system redistricting and why should you care?