Lake
City: Redistricting On Tap Monday Night
Posted May 4, 2013 02:40 pm
Updated May 5, 2013 07:54 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – This Monday night at 5:30 pm, May 6, 2013, Lake City is presenting its new proposed redistricting maps to the public for the first time. The meeting, originally scheduled for May 2, was rescheduled by Lake City Mayor Steve Witt, after it was discovered that the special meeting was in conflict with the County Commission meeting, which was scheduled for the same time. Mayor Witt told the Observer, "As Mayor of all the people of Lake City, who are also residents of Columbia County, I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to attend the redistricting special meeting so that they could participate and be heard."
The City Charter requires that the boundaries of the City's four election districts be reviewed by the City Council every five years.
Links: click current or proposed to see the maps
District 10 •
current 941 voters
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proposed 1479
District 12 •
current 1708 voters
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proposed 1512
District 13 •
current 2308 voters
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proposed 1724
District 14 •
current 1158 voters
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proposed 1400
The
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current map
The
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proposed map
Following the review, the Council may, in its discretion, by ordinance, redefine the boundaries of each of the districts to insure that each has approximately the same number of registered voters.
The City determined that the four districts, as they are presently drawn, do not have approximately the same number of registered voters.
City Attorney Herbert Darby has determined that the proposed changes comply with the City Charter and comply with the requirements of the Federal Voting Rights Act.
According to the City, the Supervisor of Elections Office has determined that once the new precinct lines have been defined, the registered voters will be required to be notified. There will be a fee charged by the Supervisor of Elections Office to the City. At this time the charge for this fee has not been determined.
The boundaries can be left as they are.
Lake City has one of the most restrictive residency requirements for candidates in the state, 1 year.
