Volusia County Prepares for Mandatory Redistricting.

Written by Kristen Schmutz

Belden Communications News

With the population count for the 2020 Census now complete, Volusia County is turning its attention to the mandatory redrawing of the boundary lines for its five County Council districts.

According to a release, the county’s home rule charter requires the county to go through redistricting every 10 years after each national Census.

The goal is to ensure that all five council districts remain contiguous and as equal in population as possible. The Volusia County School Board will be going through the same process, and one of the first decisions the County Council made on Tuesday was to invite the School Board to collaborate with the county in redrawing their district maps.

The new district maps will be used in the 2022 elections.

The council decided Tuesday to follow the process the county established in its last redistricting following the 2010 Census. That will include plenty of chances for public input, with workshop talks and the posting of proposed maps in county buildings and online.

“The goals should be to ensure the public’s involvement and making voting information as simple as possible,” said County Chair Jeff Brower. “I think this motion covers council workshops and community input, so the general population is invited to participate. And they will not be left out.”

Some of the other goals that the council established Tuesday to guide the process included preserving municipal boundaries when possible, keeping intact large concentrations of minority populations, and ensuring that no two sitting council members end up in the same district.

The council will make a point to avoid splitting communities that have geographically connected populations and share common social and economic interests. Examples cited on Tuesday included Midtown Daytona Beach, the Spring Hill community in DeLand, the Pierson-Seville area, and the Enterprise-Osteen area.