Boundary lines for four of Pike County’s five supervisor districts must change as part of the 10-year redistricting process, which supervisors began Tuesday with guidance from the Stennis Institute of Government.
Some 40 people gathered in the chancery courtroom at Magnolia to watch — and participate in — the process.
Pike County has a population of 40,324, according to the 2020 Census. Ideally, each district should have 8,065 people, according to the “one person, one vote” rule of the Voting Rights Act.
The act allows 5% deviation above or below the ideal. But four of the five districts far exceed that.
District 1, which is centered around McComb, has 7,115 people, or 950 fewer than ideal.
District 2, which covers the center of the county, has 7,495 people, 570 too few.
District 3, which covers northeast and east-central, has 8,711 people, or 646 above the ideal.
District 4, which spans the northwest portion of the county, contains 8,932, or 867 too many.
District 5, which wraps around the southern and western sides of the county, has 8,071 people, or just six more than ideal.
Supervisors must more or less equalize population among the districts while paying attention to racial makeup.
“We make sure that minority voting strength isn’t diluted,” said Dallas Breen of the Stennis Institute.
Pike County is 53% Black, with a 51% black voting age population.
Districts 1 and 2 are Black majority, with 76% and 68% Black voting age populations, respectively.
Districts 3 and 4 are White majority, with 57% and 62% White voting age populations, respectively.
District 5 has 49% White and 47% Black voting age populations.
“What we’re going to have to do is move 1,600 people in 3 and 4 into 1 and 2,” Breen said, referring to adjusting district lines.
Since the last redistricting took place a decade ago, “It looks as though people moved from 1 and 2 into 3 and 4,” Breen said. “(District) 5 is almost ideal. Hardly anyone moved from District 5.”
Since District 4 borders District 1 but doesn’t touch District 2, most increases to District 1 must come from 4.
Likewise, most increases to District 2 must come from 3.
Supervisors, with input from election commissioners and citizens, worked with Breen and his colleague Heston Lollar to come up with various scenarios on a computerized map shown on a large screen for the audience.
Throughout the process, Breen invited people in the audience to ask questions or comment, stressing the process must be “fair and transparent.”
The next step is for Stennis officials to take the recommended changes and draw up a draft map to present at a public hearing. Supervisors can approve the plan then or make more changes.
“This has been a very productive meeting,” Board of Supervisors President Accardo said at the end of Tuesday’s two-hour gathering. “This is the beginning of the process.”
