Agenda - 09-02-2021; 12-8 - Information Item - Memorandum - Transmittal of the Final Report from the BOCC Elections Advisory Group (BEAG) on the Process for Electing County Commissioners in Orange County

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79 Should you have public hearings? The answer to this question will depend on local circumstances. Cities,counties, and school systems are all free to adopt additional procedures if they wish.They might, for example, appoint a citizen advisory board to study the redistricting question and propose new boundaries. The danger, of course, is that the advi- sory board will come up with a plan that _ the governing board does not like, and the result is a political problem.The board might conduct public hearings or in some other way establish procedures for pub- lic comment. - - There is no requirement that the board obtain public input,but doing so may be a very good idea for two reasons.. First, it demonstrates that the board is _ responsive to the people on an issue �! as fundamental as the election of their representatives. Second, a hearing (or another input mechanism)may be help- ful in achieving preclearance of the redis- tricting plan for cities, counties, and school systems subject to the require- ments of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965,discussed later. A public hearing,if held,will likely be most effective if a couple of alternative plans are available for discussion.They will help focus the comments and pro- vide a meaningful context. Citizens at- tending should be permitted to present two great advantages. First, if they are mittee too must be open.Work by staff their own plans. carefully chosen, they bring expertise. on the project is not subject to the sta- They should have skills in assessing the tute,however. Should you hire outside consultants? census data that exceed the skills likely There are valid reasons to consider hir- to be found on the board or the staff. Can you keep drafts of tentative ing outside consultants and valid reasons Also,they should be thoroughly familiar plans secret? not to do so.In some instances,of course, with the legal considerations involved in Not completely,no.The North Carolina redistricting will not be necessary at the one-person/one-vote principle, dis- Supreme Court has interpreted the state's all—where population change has not cussed earlier, and in the tricky notions public records law,27 which gives citizens been great and the 10 percent rule is not of racial fairness and equal protection, the right to see and copy most documents violated. In some other instances, even discussed later. Second,consultants can made or received in the course of the gov- where the imbalance does exceed 10 per- lend the process a sense of fairness—they ernment's business, to include prelimi- cent, it will be possible with relatively are outsiders brought in, not insiders nary drafts of documents.28 At what straightforward effort to bring the dis- protecting themselves—and they can be point a working document becomes a tricts into compliance.The duty to come blamed if things go wrong. preliminary draft subject to the require- up with a proposal can be delegated to ments of public inspection is a matter not the manager or to the city's or county's Can you consider redistricting in fully settled in the law.29 The safe proce- planning staff,for instance,to work in closed sessions? dure is to assume that once a redistricting conjunction with the unit's attorney. No.The open meetings law requires that map is recognizable as such,it is proba- There is a political bomb waiting to ex- meetings of public bodies be open to the bly a public record. plode,however,if the redrawing necessi- public,except for particular subjects set tates pitting incumbents against one out in the statute.26 Redistricting is not May you protect incumbents? another, and the manager or the staff an exception.If the board sets up a com- Yes.The U.S. Supreme Court has recog- may not wish to be involved. mittee of board members to work on nized "incumbency protection, at least Consultants,on the other hand,bring redistricting,the meetings of that com- in the limited form of avoiding contests 8 POPULAR GOVERNMENT SPRING 2-00I