City Council Nears Final Stages of Redistricting Project

The City of Elk Grove held its bi-weekly public hearing before the Elk Grove City Council on Mar 9 in an effort to finalize the Redistricting Project based on 2020 Census data.

Redistricting is a process where city officials come together to redraw the city’s district lines. The process of redistricting occurs every 10 years when new Census data is collected. Once new data becomes available, it allows cities to reassess how local demographics have changed from previous years. Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen, and Elk Grove City Council-members also heard from the public regarding recent updates. Community members attended the public hearing both in-person and on Zoom. The March 4 deadline has now passed for the public to submit their ideas for new district maps.

Meanwhile, city council-members voted and selected three map drafts. Final consideration of the drafts will be at the next public hearing on Mar 23.

Redisctricting Process Update

Before taking public comment, City Clerk Jason Lindgren explained the redistricting process. He discussed the city’s efforts to attract public input, including the process for how district maps are submitted for consideration. Importantly, Lindgren addressed the pros and cons of each district map. He highlighted where the boundaries meet in contrast to where they are now.

“It’s game time”, Lindgren said before presenting the map drafts. He briefly spoke about the public’s participation in designing the maps, and how city officials held seven public workshops during the last week of February. In addition, there were five outdoor walk-up events that allowed the community to ask questions, and share their ideas.

Furthermore, Lindgren mentioned maps received prior to the March 4 deadline, and described the pros and cons of each map. There were concerns regarding voter displacement, and which council-member would represent those districts. This issue received special attention because the City of Elk Grove recently moved to a bi-district system. Additionally, some maps would impact the ability for voters to vote between now and the 2024 election. To that end, there were concerns that voters would have to wait six years before the next time they could vote.

In conclusion, as mentioned previously, the city council voted on three draft dis trict map plans. They are maps 11, 12 and 22 respectively. The City Council will vote on one map, and it will commence at the next public hearing on Mar 23.

Public Comment

Two members of the public joined the meeting to voice their opinion. They both supported Map 21, which they feel would keep Elk Grove’s Punjabi community together. The first public comment came from Reena S:

As a Punjabi-American, I want to express my support for Map 21. Our Punjabi community lives both on the northeast of highway-99 and southwest of highway-99. As such it is important that my community receives accurate representation in the redistricting process, and in the City Council in the upcoming years. It’s important that the Punjabi community is kept together. Map 21 achieves this.”
Reena S

Project Timeline and Upcoming Milestones

The City of Elk Grove will finalize its new maps throughout March and into April. See below for a timeline of important upcoming dates, courtesy of the City Of Elk Grove.

March 4, 2022 – Administrative deadline to receive draft map submittals and community of interest submittals

March 23, 2022 – City Council Regular Meeting – Public Hearing, review of proposed finalist maps and Staff Presentation
April 13, 2022 – City Council Regular Meeting – Public Hearing, continued review of a proposed finalist map, Staff Presentation, and final district map adoption
April 17, 2022 – Deadline to submit a final district map to the Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections Office

For more information on redistricting in Elk Grove, visit https://www.elkgrovecity.org/city_hall/city_government/city_council/redistricting