The Jefferson County Election Commission met Wednesday evening to approve new districts for each Justice of the Peace due to less population in Pine Bluff and rural areas in the county across the Arkansas River.
The redistricting was done to even out population numbers within each district, and to put each district below a five percent variance.
Jefferson County Election Commissioner Mike Adam said the new numbers came from census reports.
District 13 saw one of the largest increases due to a substantial population decrease.
Adam said that the redistricting helped to clean up several boundary areas for each district.
Adam also stated that each district was designed so none of the J.P.’s will move to a new district, and they will be able to run as the incumbent during their next election cycle.
The new districts were approved by a unanimous vote.
DISTRICT CHANGES
District 1 – population decrease, area needed to increase
- Lost portion that was NE of Martha Mitchell Expressway (including Union Pacific Rail Yard) to District 13 to allow 13 to grow. Follows existing Precinct lines.
- W boundary with D3 changed to equalize populations and follow School District Zone.
- Gained eastern most portion of District 2 in order to shift population out of 2 and keep similar areas together. Follows existing precinct line.
District 2 – population growth, area needed to decrease
- Lost NE corner between drainage creek and interstate to District 1 to grow 1 and shed population. Follows existing precinct line.
- Boundary with D3 cleaned to be more compact and slightly shed population. Now aligned with School District Zone.
- Southern border cleaned to follow municipal boundary.
District 3 – significant population decrease, area needed to increase
- Shifted SW to gain population from D5 and allow D1 to gain population.
- SE boundary with D2 cleaned up to be more compact and follow School District Zone.
- Several block swaps with D2 and D1 to equalize populations and follow School District Zone.
District 4 – significant population growth, area needed to decrease
- Lost western portion to 6 (and 5) to make more compact and to shift population to 6 (and then to 13). Now follows School District Zone.
- Northern border slightly shifted to equalize population and follow W 26th Ave consistently
District 5 – population growth, area needed to decrease
- Southern boundary cleaned to follow I-530
- Gained portion of 9 in SW to improve compactness of 9, shed population form 9, and to decrease precinct parts.
- Lost population in N to D3 to shift population into D3 (including gains from 9).
District 6 – significant population growth, area needed to decrease
- NW border with 11 cleaned up to follow Precinct and Township Boundaries and decrease precinct parts.
- Gained small portion in N that is SE of S. Camden Rd. from 9 to clean up boundary and equalize population.
- Lost portion on other side of I-530 to clean up boundary of 5 to follow interstate.
- Lost large portion of NE around the eastern boundary of Pine Bluff due to district 13 needing to gain substantial population.
- JP 6 Incumbent location prevented boundary from being cleaner and following roads.
- Ended up following transmission line to prevent moving incumbent. Huge census block (441 population) east of incumbent was part of the problem.
District 7 – population decrease, area needed to increase
- Northern border moved north into district 10 to gain population from D10. Aligned with Township border.
- Western border cleaned up to follow White Hall municipal boundary and then Hwy 365 District 8 – minor population increase, area needed to decrease and also shift to account for changes to other districts
- Gained SW portion of White Hall because district 12 had to shrink
- Lost rural western portion of district to 11 to even out gains from 12 and to allow 11 to grow. Now follows White Hall SD Boundary and is fully within the School District.
District 9 – population increase, area needed to decrease
- Lost blocks east of S. Camden Rd. to D5 in order to shed population and become more compact.
- Gained western “spiral” of Pine Bluff city limits along with rural blocks stretching out to township and school district zone lines. This allows for further annexations in this area that might cause awkward or small precinct slits in the future.
District 10 – significant population increase, area needed to decrease
- Southern boundary moved northwards to align with Township and Precinct line in order to shed a large amount of population.
District 11 – very significant population decrease, area needed to increase
- Gained rural western portion of district 8 and western portion of 12 and SW portion of 10. Follows White Hall SD line and I-530.
- Lost NW portion of Pine Bluff to District 9 to increase compactness of 9 and facilitate potential western expansion on Pine Bluff without creating precinct parts. Follows Township and Precinct boundaries and Sulphur Springs Rd. / School District Zone / Precinct Boundary
- Southern border cleaned up to follow Precinct and Township Boundaries
District 12 – very significant population increase, area needed to decrease
- South and Western borders moved inwards to follow Sheridan Rd. and I-530 in order to
shed population.
- NW border continued NW into District 10 to follow corridor between I-530 and Hwy 365 and township line to balance population while creating room for possible city expansion (without creating parts)
- Eastern border cleaned up to follow White Hall municipal boundary
District 13 – very substantial population decrease, area needed to increase
- Gained large portion of District 6 in the south and around southern portion of Pine Bluff.
- Gained portion of District 1 that was NE of Martha Mitchell Expressway (including Union Pacific Rail Yard)
- Follows existing Precinct and Township lines.
