Title
Providing standards for redistricting of wards in 2021.
Body
WHEREAS, the Charter Commission is authorized by section 4.01.2 of the City Charter to revise ward boundaries following the decennial census, and
WHEREAS, the legal objective of redistricting is to create wards of substantially equal population comprised of contiguous territory, and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court has defined traditional districting principles to be used for the process of redistricting, and
WHEREAS, Minnesota courts have articulated principles used for redistricting in this state, and
WHEREAS, it is in the public interest for the redistricting process in the City to be conducted in a manner that is open, transparent, nonpartisan and fair to both voters and candidates, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Saint Paul hereby approves the following standards to guide the Charter Commission during the process of redistricting of wards following the 2020 Census.
1. Census data. The population counts to be used for redistricting purposes will be determined from the block population data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau under Public Law 94-171, subject to correction by the Census Bureau or by the state demographer.
2. Traditional districting principles. City redistricting activities should be conducted using the traditional districting principles articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court and Minnesota courts, as augmented by the principles provided in these standards.
3. Standards for wards. The following standards apply to the creation of ward boundaries. The standards should be applied in the order they are listed.
a. Population equality. The population of each ward should be as equal as practicable and in any case must not deviate from the ideal population by more than one percent, plus or minus. The ideal population is defined to be the most recent city census population, divided by the total number of wards provided in the charter.
b. Compactness. T...
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