The Seminole Board of County Commissioners began discussions on redistricting during their Sept. 7 regularly scheduled meeting. The Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma (ACCO) explains that redistricting happens every 10 years, following the federal decennial census. Due to census delays, the normal timeline for this work has been extended. Although it is normally expected to be completed by Oct. 1, this year the deadline will instead be Nov. 30, 2021. The new districts will take effect on Jan. 1, 2022.

District 1 Commissioner Russell Yott began the discussion by stating he had spoken with ACCO the previous week and was informed that redistricting is required, and if they need help, they should contact their state senator, state representative or ACCO. Yott clarified that redistricting will include everything from voting precincts and the commissioner’s districts up to Senate and Representative districts. The Legislature is responsible for redrawing state House, Senate and congressional district boundaries. Counties commissioners are tasked with redrawing new commissioner boundaries. County election secretaries are responsible for redrawing precinct boundaries.

District 3 Commissioner Clifton Taylor recalled the process ten years ago included a meeting at the state capitol. He explained that they use the information from the census to keep the number of people in each of the three districts as equal as possible. It was observed that the population of Seminole County has gone down, but they were uncertain what areas had the most change.

Yott recalled a conversation with a commissioner from Johnston County who told him they once had a district with only ten road miles to maintain while another district had over 100 miles to maintain. However, the last time they did redistricting they divided the road miles more equally. Yott observed he has slightly less than 300 road miles to maintain. Taylor estimated he had approximately 330 road miles, and District 2 Commissioner Tim Porter estimated he had around 280 road miles to maintain.

During the discussion Election Board Secretary Amy Baker was consulted, and she stated she would be attending a workshop in a couple of weeks that she expects will help her better understand the challenge.

The agenda item was tabled so the commissioners could have time to review the new census information before they made a decision.

According to Oklahoma Statutes Title 19-321, “each county shall be divided by the board of county commissioners into three (3) compact districts, as equal in population as practicable and numbered respectively one, two, and three. One commissioner shall be elected from each of said districts by the voters of the district, as provided for by law.

Each county shall be reapportioned by the board of county commissioners on or before October 1 following the final official publication of the Federal Decennial Census to the State of Oklahoma for the purposes of legislative redistricting. The reapportionment shall be recorded in a resolution adopted by the commissioners. The resolution shall include an effective date for the reapportioned county commissioner districts. The effective date shall be January 1 of the following year.”