At a meeting held in the Greene County Courthouse on Monday night, November 14, two proposed redistricting plans were presented to the public.

Jill Hannah with West Alabama Regional Council explained that the redistricting was the result of the 2010 Census.

The change in population in the county has made the districts uneven, she said.

The goal is to get as nearly as possible an equal number of people in each district. It would not change the polling places, but would change the candidates some people would vote on.

She said that if the commission didn’t pass a new plan, the districts will remain the same.

Hannah admitted that none of the commissioners wanted to move their district lines.

Apparently, neither did the public. The proposed main shifts could occur in Eutaw,  the Central/South area of Union and a portion of Tishabee.

She said the base number for each district should be 1,809 people. As the districts are now drawn, the least amount of population in a district is 1,719 and the highest is 1,899. She emphasized that this was based on population, not on number of voters in the districts.

Districts one and two would change the most.

Lester Brown of Union was very angry with the proposal that would put Union in two districts. 

“We’ve got plenty of time to adjust these districts. Why draw a line straight through a city. If these lines are approved, I will go all the way to the Justice Department.”

Hannah said that normally the Department of Justice will approve whatever the County Commission approves.

According to Hahnah, District 1 is over by 72 people and District 2 is short 72 people to have the ideal balance.

Two of those attending the meeting, Dr. Carol P. Zippert and Johnny Mae Knott wanted the addresses of people who would be shifted should one of these proposed plans be adopted.

Hannah indicated names could not be provided for privacy purposes. Knott  noted it would clarify proposed changes to have roads and streets identified.

Zippert also wanted to know if the  commission districts were the same as those for the Board of Education and had the Board been involved in the process of redistricting. Hannah replied that the WARC had only worked with the county. She stated that the Board should be involved – that the Board of Education would be having elections before the County Commission.

Greene County must maintain at least three minority voting districts.