Redistricting advisory committee offers two maps; commissioners hear hours of public comment

The Orange County Mid-Decennial Redistricting Advisory Committee presented two recommended maps to the Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 16 — referred to throughout the process as Map 1a and Map 7b — after more than 19 public meetings and extensive public engagement. Committee co-chair Camille Evans summarized the group’s work and urged commissioners to review the committee record and public comments before selecting a map.

The committee’s recommendations come after the board-approved charter amendment expanded single-member commission districts from six to eight. County staff and the committee said they used 2020 Census data to compute an ideal district population of roughly 178,738 residents and applied traditional, race-neutral redistricting principles — compactness, preservation of municipal boundaries, maintenance of communities of interest and preservation of cores of prior districts — while remaining mindful of federal equal-protection and Voting Rights Act requirements.

"Over the last 7 months,…