Press Release: D.C. Council & Office of Planning Launch DIY Redistricting Website

News Release — At-large DC Council member Elissa Silverman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Sam Rosen-Amy

Mapping Tool Gives Residents Ability to Draw-Your-Own Ward Boundary Proposals; Series of Redistricting Hearings Kick Off September 29

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 17, 2021 – Today, the D.C. Council’s Subcommittee on Redistricting, together with the D.C. Office of Planning, released a new online tool for the public to participate directly in the redistricting process, by allowing residents to draw their own ward maps and submit them to the Redistricting Subcommittee for official consideration. The new website, dcredistricting.esriemcs.com, is the first time the District government has provided its residents a high-tech way to use Census population data to draw ward boundary proposals and collaborate in potential solutions.

“Redistricting ensures that residents have an equal voice in our elected government, and this mapping tool now gives the public even more of a say in the process of shifting our ward boundaries to reflect the change in our population,” said At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman, chair of the Council’s Redistricting Subcommittee. “My goal is for this to be the most transparent, accessible redistricting process the District of Columbia has ever seen.”

Every ten years, the District, along with every other state, must rebalance its legislative districts to keep them about equal population based on the Census. For D.C., redistricting affects both ward and Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) boundaries. The ward redrawing happens first, followed by the ANC process, which will begin in December.

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson earlier this year appointed a redistricting subcommittee to engage the public and present a proposal to the full Council for consideration. The subcommittee is composed of Silverman (I), who will chair the efforts, along with at-large councilmembers Anita Bonds (D) and Christina Henderson (I).

The redistricting website includes training materials for the public to learn how to use the mapping tool. The D.C. Office of Planning will also host a series of live, virtual trainings for members of the public who want more individual, hands-on instruction about how to use the website. Residents can go to calendly.com/redistricting to sign-up for the trainings, which will take place between September 28 and October 8.

The Redistricting Subcommittee will hold a public hearing on redistricting on Wednesday, September 29. More information about the hearing, including how to sign-up to testify, can be found at dccouncil.us/event/subcommittee-on-redistricting-public-hearing/.  Residents can also use the new mapping tool to submit proposed maps as part of their testimony before the Council. The subcommittee will also be announcing ward-level redistricting hearings, one in each ward, in the coming days.

“This new tool is a game-changer in making the task we have with redistricting more understandable and accessible to the public,” said Silverman. “I look forward to seeing the proposals submitted through the website.”

The subcommittee’s proposal will take the form of a bill that will voted on by the subcommittee, then moved to the full Council for consideration similar to any other piece of permanent legislation. Once the Council has finalized the new ward maps in late December, the ANC redrawing process will kick off, wrapping up by June.

Residents can always find the latest information about redistricting in D.C. at the Redistricting Subcommittee’s website, elissasilverman.com/redistricting.

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