SMITH COUNTY, Texas — The Smith County Commissioners Court will hold its second workshop on redistricting on Tuesday, Oct. 26, to discuss several options of redrawing the four Commissioners Court precinct lines.
The first workshop was held on Oct. 19, when Phil Arnold, an attorney with Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta, LLP, of Austin, and GIS specialist Josh Crahan showed the Commissioners Court several options to even out populations of residents in each precinct relating to the Constitutionally-mandated redistricting process.
Each scenario is detailed on maps created by Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta, LLP. They can be found here.
The 2020 U.S. Census data shows that Smith County grew from 209,714 people in 2010, to 233,479 people in 2020 – an 11.33% increase. Some portions of Smith County have grown more than others, leaving Precinct 1 the largest, with 64,780 residents, and Precinct 4 the smallest, with 52,238 people. That makes Precinct 1 overpopulated by 11% and Precinct 4 underpopulated by 10.5%.
"By law, the deviation from the most populous precinct to the least populous precinct must be lower than a 10% difference to comply with the Fourteenth Amendment so that everyone’s vote counts equally," Arnold said. “The idea is to have as close to equal population as possible."
The first potential change discussed by the Commissioners was an adjustment to the lines between Precincts 1 and 4. The scenario would result in Precinct 1 giving up to three voting precincts to Precinct 4. These three voting precincts have a combined population of 8,470 people, and spans from Lake Placid Rd. in Flint to the Tyler Airport on U.S. Highway 64 W. Arnold says a portion of that territory is not heavily populated, so it takes a large piece of property.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Neal Franklin says the plan makes the most sense, but that he would like to consider it further and talk to his constituents about it in the coming weeks.
The Commissioners Court also discussed several options of slight changes between Precinct 2 and Precinct 3. Under three different scenarios presented, Precinct 3, which currently has 61,259 people, would give some of its territory to Precinct 2, which has a current population of 55,202 people.
The Commissioners Court took no action on Oct. 19, and plans to hold a second workshop at 9:30 a.m., on Tuesday, Oct. 26, in the Commissioners Courtroom, located at 200 E. Ferguson St. to consider these and any other new alternatives for redistricting.
The Court will likely vote on a new redistricting plan on Nov. 2, unless additional meetings or time for consideration are needed.
If you would like to voice your opinion on Smith County redistricting, forms are available on the county’s redistricting page on the website.