Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Redistricting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Abbeville council weighs competing redistricting maps, votes to revise city plan
Summary
After public comment and a presentation by the Vermillion NAACP, the Abbeville City Council voted 4–1 to take the city-drawn redistricting map back for line adjustments rather than adopt the NAACP plan; the council previously amended the agenda to allow both maps to be considered.
Ahmed Susi, representing the Vermillion NAACP, urged the Abbeville City Council on Aug. 5 to adopt an alternative redistricting plan he said would reduce ‘‘packing’’ of Black voters and produce near‑zero population deviation among districts. "Why pass a map that packs Black voters into one district?" Susi asked during a public hearing presentation.
The NAACP presenter pointed to the city’s proposed District D, saying the plan leaves the district roughly 69.6% Black total population and about 67% voting‑age Black population. He recommended the NAACP map, which he said reduces Black voting‑age population in that district to about 56% and lowers maximum district deviation to about 1.1 percent.
City counsel Jordan Hennean showed an overlay comparing the NAACP submission and the city’s map, explained redistricting legal standards and repeated that courts typically presume maps with a maximum population deviation under 10 percent to be constitutional, shifting the burden to plaintiffs to show otherwise. Hennean said the city’s proposed map was tailored to minimize disruption to neighborhoods and to meet traditional redistricting principles such as contiguity and compactness.
Members of the public, including Raven St. and Alicia Williams, urged the council to adopt a proportional plan. Council debate split along lines of caution and deference to locally drawn plans: one group of council members said they wanted to accept the NAACP proposal to "put the matter to rest," while others said the city should further refine its own map to reduce deviation and preserve communities of interest.
Councilors first voted unanimously to amend the agenda so both maps could be considered. A later amendment to adopt the NAACP map failed for lack of support. The council then approved, by roll call, a motion (4–1) to take the city map, make additional adjustments to reduce deviation closer to the NAACP plan, and return the revised map for reconsideration before final adoption and submission to the Secretary of State. The mayor and staff noted the statutory deadline for submitting an adopted map to the Secretary of State is Dec. 17, 2025.
Next steps: staff will prepare adjusted lines and population tables as directed; the council will revisit the item at a future meeting before making a final vote.
