Georgetown City Council explores redistricting in time for 2022 election

Georgetown City Council began the process of exploring redistricting based on 2020 census information at the Oct. 26 workshop

Because of the growing population of Georgetown, the city’s seven districts will be redrawn in the coming months to better stabilize district sizes based on population growth, according to the city.

Redistricting happens every 10 years based on an assessment of census data, and based on census information for Georgetown, the population has grown by 41% between 2010 and 2020, from 47,400 to 66,880. The ideal district size is 9,554 people, which is based on the population of the city divided by the seven districts.

Based on census data, the 2020 populations in each district are as follows:

The major factor in the redistricting process is population, which is based on the one person-one vote requirement in the United States, avoiding discrimination when redrawing the districts based on the voting-age population.

There are also criteria the council will follow, including using boundaries such as roads and rivers, maintaining certain communities, adopting new districts of approximately equal population and complying with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Georgetown City Council will be holding special sessions through December, and a decision is expected before the May City Council elections.