Public hearing Dec. 21 on PWC’s proposed new boundaries for voting districts and precincts

Prince William Board of County Supervisors will hold a public hearing and adopt the county’s redistricting ordinance on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, at 7:30 p.m. in the Board Chambers of the James J. McCoart Administration Building in Woodbridge.

The public may view the map, which addresses the growth in the county while adhering to legal redistricting requirements and the Board’s redistricting criteria, as well as the corresponding material on the county’s website at pwcva.gov/redistricting.

Those wishing to provide comments regarding the map are invited to attend the public hearing on Dec. 21 or send comments online to pwcva.gov/redistricting. A county news release assures that the supervisors will see the comments prior to the public hearing.

The Constitution of Virginia requires the Board of County Supervisors to change its district boundaries every 10 years in the year ending in “1” using the most recent decennial population figures. Even though the census figures were made public much later than usual and the state redistricting plan is not yet final, Prince William County legal advisors have told the Board it is required to adopt a redistricting ordinance in 2021. This ordinance must include boundary lines for the magisterial districts, as well as election precincts and polling places.

Based on the Code of Virginia, precincts must be wholly located within local, state, and congressional election boundaries. The Supreme Court of Virginia is responsible for redistricting the state and congressional boundaries, which is not expected to be complete before the date of the county’s public hearing.

The precincts in the proposed redistricting map are based on the proposed local election boundaries and the current state and congressional boundaries. (not the new boundaries being considered by the Virginia Supreme Court.)

Once the Virginia Supreme Court adopts new state and congressional boundaries, Prince William County will have to reprecinct again in early 2022 to ensure that precincts are wholly located within all election boundaries, the county news release said.

For more details and information about the county’s redistricting process, go to pwcva.gov/redistricting.