HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93009_0236contain 18,586 people. In districting for local governments,
Courts recognize the 108 deviation for all the districts combined.
The districts in Iredell County would have to between 17,657 and
19,550.
A Black district could be formed by using these figures based
on five districts, Mr. Crowell, said but the County would not like
what it is going to look like. Mr. Crowell showed maps he had
prepared to show the districts. He illustrated a district which
would be predominantly Black that would have 17,766 people, which
is below the ideal size but is still large enough. There are 9,726
or 54.88 would be Black. The voting age population is 50.38 Black.
It is just barely a majority of Black voters, Crowell said.
The Black district configuration connects as many Black census
blocks as possible so there would be enough people for a district.
The Blacks in Iredell County are not concentrated in one area and
represent only 168 of the population. There are only two precincts
out of 24 in the county in which Black citizens are a majority.
If the County were sued in a Voting Rights Case, Mr. Crowell
said, the County would win. It is not possible to create a
geographically compact district with a majority of Black citizens.
The test is whether you can create a minority district using the
present size of the board. If you increase the size of the board,
then the likelihood to create a compact Black district increases.
Mr. Crowell said nine, ten, or eleven districts could create
a fairly compact Black district. The test in the Courts is what
can be done using the present size of the board.
what if a board wished to create a minority district?
Districts 1 and 12 are the majority Black districts. This was done
by the Legislature to create two minority districts. The U. S.
Supreme Court says the white voters can bring a claim of racial
gerrymandering if districts are such unusual, bizarre shapes, that
it is unexplainable for any reason other than race, then it would
have to be justified. The result is that the Court has now
recognized a new kind of lawsuit where White voters claim racial
gerrymandering.
Mr. Crowell summarized by saying if Blacks brought a law suit
under the Voting Rights Act, they would not be successful, because
they would not be able to show that it is possible to divide the
county into five districts to create one majority Black compact
district. Secondly, even without a lawsuit, if the County
attempted to form districts, it would be inviting a lawsuit from
white citizens, and he feels the County would lose.
Chairman Haire thanked Mr. Crowell for coming to the meeting.
REPORT FROM THE INVOLVEMENT COUNCIL ON ELDERLY DAY CARE AND
CHILD DAY CARE NEEDS: Mrs. Rhonda Dietch addressed the adult day
care needs. Mr. Mashburn had requested that the Involvement
Council perform this study and report to the board. The only adult
day care presently in Iredell County is the E1dercenter, which
provides adult day care for adults 55 and over. They are presently
serving 30 clients whose average age is 82.
Mrs. Dietch said the greatest need is day care for Alzheimers
clients. E1derCenter is not equipped to take care of this need.
The Developmental Day Care Center in Troutman provides for
mentally and physically handicapped adults in Iredell. They serve
29 clients at the present time. Ages range from 18 to 50.
There is a proposed plan for the Mooresville/South Iredell
area. Anna Rice is involved with this planning, and space will be
provided for adult day care and activities for the elderly.
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