• One group has said for years the Columbus County commissioners districts do not comply with the constitutional requirement of one person, one vote.

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

One person, one vote.

It requires that every district in a single-member district election system have an equal number of people, but one group says Columbus County’s commission districts are anything but equal.

“There is no political motive. Our only goal is to be in compliance with the law,” said Columbus County Citizens for Better Government President Harry Foley, who plans to ask the board of commissioners once again to consider redistricting.

“We are trying to be a kinder, gentle Citizens for Better Government,” Foley said, pointing out he wanted to work with the commissioners and not take an adversarial approach.

While the organization has sought legal counsel and been told they could seek an injunction, Foley said it’s the “farthest thing from (his) mind.”

While the CCCBG continues to advocate for the possibility of some form of countywide or at-large election of commissioners, the focus for now seems to be on urging commissioners to redraw districts that were not redrawn following the 2000 census.

Several of the districts may have more than a 10-percent deviation in population and could be challenged in court as violating the constitutional provision of one person, one vote, Foley said.

Commissioner Ronald Gore’s district may have as much as 20 percent more residents than Commissioner Bill Memory’s district, according to 2000 census data.

Foley said it is likely the request will be met with opposition on the grounds the board may want to wait for the 2010 census, but Foley said waiting until the 2010 census is a mistake.

The 2008, 2010, and 2012 elections could all be decided with unbalanced districts if redistricting is put off, Foley said.

Former CCCBG president and current member Sammie Hinson said an overlay of the census data and commissioner districts could be completed relatively quickly.

A company that specializes in redistricting could do the actual overlay in about two hours, Hinson said.

The process of approval could take as little as two weeks, he said.

The CCCBG discussed the need for redistricting as far back as 2005 but did not heavily pursue the issue in 2006.

Redistricting has not occurred since 1992 when a federal court ordered that commission districts be redrawn to protect minority districts.