At the December 14, 2021 Del Mar College Board of Regents meeting, the Board was advised that an initial assessment of the 2020 U.S. Census results showed the current DMC single-member regent districts are sufficiently out of population balance to require the redrawing and balancing of the district boundaries (“redistricting”).
At the February 1 and March 8, 2022 Board meetings, the Board of Regents discussed and deliberated different potential redistricting plans and have developed a proposed redistricting plan on which they are seeking public input.
Citizens are encouraged to review the proposed redistricting plan information and provide input. Submitted comments or other redistricting plans shall be submitted in accordance with the Guidelines for Persons Submitting Specific Redistricting Proposals adopted by the Board and the deadline for providing public input is Wednesday, April 6, 2022.
Comments and questions may be emailed to redistricting2022@delmar.edu. Comments and questions may also be provided in person or by mail as follows:
Del Mar College Office of General Counsel 101 Baldwin Blvd. Heldenfels Building, HA-131 Corpus Christi, Texas 78404 361-698-1096
Public Hearing
The Del Mar College Board of Regents will hold a Public Hearing on the proposed redistricting plan on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, at 10:30 a.m., in Room 106 at the Center for Economic Development, 3209 S. Staples.
Proposed Redistricting Maps
Del Mar College Trustee Districts (Draft Plan D)
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District 1 (Draft Plan D)
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District 2 (Draft Plan D)
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District 3 (Draft Plan D)
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District 4 (Draft Plan D)
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District 5 (Draft Plan D)
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Trustee Districts with Voting Tabulation Districts
Redistricting is the process of redrawing the boundaries of the College’s single-member districts for electing five (5) members of the Board of Regents.
Why does the College redistrict?
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1964 that election districts (such as Board of Regents districts) must have “substantially equal” total population, sometimes referred to as the “one person, one vote standard.” “Substantially equal” has been determined to mean no more than a ten percent (10%) deviation between the most populous and the least populous districts.
Every ten years after the U.S. Census results are released, each jurisdiction that includes election districts must assess whether the election districts have “substantially equal population” using the new Census data.
If the total deviation between the most populous and least populous election districts is more than ten percent (10%) after applying the new Census data, the College must engage in a redistricting process. This involves redrawing the Board of Regents districts to ensure the total population in each district meets the “substantially equal” standard of no more than a 10% top to bottom deviation.
What standards apply to the redistricting process?
At their December 14, 2021 board meeting, the Regents adopted a resolution setting out the criteria to be used in redrawing the Board of Regents districts to comply with the “one person, one vote” mandate. These criteria include:
Easily identifiable geographic boundaries should be followed.
Communities of interest should be maintained in a single district, and attempts should be made to avoid splitting neighborhoods.
Regent districts should be composed of whole voting precincts. If Census block level data is used to split a voting precinct, avoid splitting census blocks unless absolutely necessary.
Although it is recognized that existing districts will have to be altered to reflect new population distribution in the College District, any districting plan should be based on existing districts.
Districts must be configured so that they are relatively equal in total population according to the 2020 federal census. In no event should the total population deviation between the largest and the smallest district exceed ten percent as compared to the ideal district size.
The districts should be compact and composed of contiguous territory. Compactness may contain a functional, as well as a geographical, dimension.
Consideration may be given to the preservation of incumbent-constituency relations by recognition of the residence of incumbents and their history in representing certain areas.
The plan should be narrowly tailored to avoid racial gerrymandering in violation of Shaw v. Reno.
The plan should not fragment a geographically compact minority community or pack minority voters in the presence of polarized voting or otherwise discriminate against protected groups so as to create liability under the Voting Rights Act.