Iowa City City Council to consider vote on final precinct map
The Iowa City City Council will consider a vote to choose a new precinct map next week. Two precinct maps are up for discussion at the upcoming Dec. 14. Iowa City City Council meeting.
Iowa City City Council Members meet at the Senior Center on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021.
December 9, 2021
The Iowa City City Council will consider a vote on new maps for the city’s precincts and City Council districts at its Dec. 14 special formal meeting.
The Johnson County Auditor’s office brought the council three maps, each of which added three additional precincts to accommodate population growth since the last time the precincts were draw in 2010.
Before the upcoming session, the council had the opportunity to listen to representatives from the Johnson County Auditor’s office at the Dec. 7 work session. The council whittled down the options to two maps, which will be considered at the meeting.
The council has prioritized keeping precincts under the population limit of 3,500 and making sure that efficiency is kept when voting.
Other standards for the precincts listed by the council state that precincts must lie inside legislative districts, are composed of contiguous territory, and include annexed territory and precinct boundaries follow census block territories.
The proposed Iowa City Plan A focuses on making sure there are clear lines between the precincts while Plan C takes into account population balance within the precincts. Plan A takes into account election turnout and polling locations.
Mayor Pro Tem Mazahir Salih told The Daily Iowan that she favored Map A because it takes into consideration election turnout.
The council will host a public hearing on the two proposed maps at the meeting. Because state law requires the maps to be passed by Jan. 3, city staff recommended that the council pass the ordinance creating the maps quickly.
The City Council plans to hold the public hearing and pass the first, second, and third reading of the ordinance in one meeting. The process for city ordinances is usually held over three council meetings.
State law requires that the ordinance is approved by January 3, 60 days after the Iowa Legislature passed the state’s new districts.
Once the council votes on a map, it will be sent to the Iowa Secretary of State for approval. The council has until Jan. 3. to choose a final map.