Totals from the 2020 census for Athens. 

Redistricting, public hearings and gerrymandering were the main topics Monday at City Hall — and through much of the community.

The Athens City Council met for its regularly scheduled meeting and discussed, with the public, the recently drawn up district map and the concerning issues it has raised.

After the standard introductory process to the meeting, councilwoman Dana Henry called into order the first of three public hearings on the evening of May 13. The first public hearing was related to the proposed ordinance concerning the redistricting, and then Henry informed the crowd of the council’s decision to move back vote on the matter.

“We will not be voting this evening because there were concerns,” Henry said. “This is just the scheduled public hearing.”

Henry noted the issues that have been brought up, not just by the public, but also by District 3 councilman James Lucas, as the main reasons the vote has been pushed back to a later date.

The redistricting process, which the council has dealt with for the last few months, must be completed prior to August 2025, which would be during the next municipal election.

City attorney Steve Black was the main speaker during the public hearing, as he responded to various points of issue with the new map for the council.

“We are trying to have districts that are close to being equal in population,” Black said. “You can’t ever get that exactly right because of many different factors, but the United States Supreme Court has given us the general rule for deviations to be less than 10%.”

Black continued with his sentiment, noting the federal voting rights act which prohibited any form of discrimination in the redrawing of the districts map — also known as gerrymandering.

“Race is considered as a factor in redistricting, but the United States Supreme Court has said that race can not be the overwhelming factor,” Black said. “It can not be the predominant factor, but it must be accounted for.”

After the meeting, District 1 councilman Chris Seibert spoke to The News Courier about the upcoming vote and the overall redistricting process.

“Barring any unusual changes, we will plan on voting on it on the 20th,” Seibert said. “We have been working on this for many months, and the city staff even longer, because there are a lot of things to consider.”

Because of Memorial Day on the next regularly scheduled meeting, the Athens City Council has moved up their meeting to May 20.