Scott Vreeland asks: > Another question... > Redistricting has just gone in to effect this year as a redrawing of > equal populations in ward and districts. So why does 7-11 have just > 721 registered voters? So there were a total of only 170 voters in the > whole precinct (23.58%) > > Compare that with 7-8, also a downtown precinct, that has 3464 registered > voters.
Redistricting of Wards and Park Districts is done based on total population as of April 1, 2000. It does not differientiate between adults and children, it does not consider voter turnout, it does not take into account subsequent development, and in Minneapolis the Redistricting Commission gave itself a 5% variance in population between Wards and Park Districts. But more important than all that. There is NO population requirements for _precincts_. In Minnesota precincts vary in population from 0 to thousands. A few years ago the entire city of Mounds View was a single precinct with a population of over 12,000 yet just a few miles away there was a Blaine precinct in Ramsey County with a population of 0. Precincts simply determine at which polling place a particular group of voters vote. There are some requirements on precincts, such as they may not cross ward, district, municipal, etc. boundaries. Beyond that they are largely drawn for the benefit of voters. Because changing polling places can be very confusing for voters, efforts are made to keep precincts stable when possible. Also add in the availability of accessable polling places (with parking) and it can be difficult to draw precinct boundaries. Other things that must be considered is the size of a particular polling place, if it is a public or private building... You also have to consider the costs involved. There is cost for renting space (in private buildings); election judge training and staffing hours; equipment purchasing, programming, and maintenance; ballot printing (every precinct has a unique ballot); and on and on... The smaller the precincts, the more precincts, the more expense. Randall Cutting Just down the street from Scott in Seward REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
