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Carson City supervisors meet for final approval of election map

Changes to the election ward map are largely concentrated along the downtown corridor, adding residents to Wards 3 and 4. The Clerk-Recorder’s office redraws the map every 10 years to reflect population shifts captured in the U.S. Census.

Changes to the election ward map are largely concentrated along the downtown corridor, adding residents to Wards 3 and 4. The Clerk-Recorder’s office redraws the map every 10 years to reflect population shifts captured in the U.S. Census.

By Faith Evans

Monday, December 27, 2021

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The Carson City Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting before New Year’s to adopt an election map and make changes to the municipal code.
The supervisors voted on both items at their Dec. 16 meeting, but they are required to hold two hearings to adopt them into law. The special meeting Thursday, Dec. 30 also allows them to adopt the map before 2022 to comply with city law and ensure that the map is ready for 2022 elections.
The map reflects population changes captured in the 2020 U.S. Census. Carson City grew by over 3,000 residents.
Every 10 years, following the U.S. Census, the city is required to redistrict its four election wards. Redistricting allows the city to make sure that the ward populations are balanced.
Each supervisor on the board represents one of the city’s wards, and they’re required to live in the ward that they represent. This system ensures that board members come from different areas of the city.
Carson City votes at-large, so residents still vote for every member of the board, regardless of the ward they live in.
The proposed map changes are minimal, adding residents to Ward 3 and Ward 4 so that each ward has approximately 14,700 residents.
The chart shows each ward’s demographics. Residents vote at large (meaning they vote on every candidate running for the Board of Supervisors), so every resident has equal voting power, regardless of the ward they live in and its racial makeup.

 

City Clerk-Recorder Aubrey Rowlatt received two comments on the map through a survey on the city’s website. One commended the clerk-recorder’s office for a map well drawn, and another came from the Las Vegas Indian Center, asking the city to protect Native American communities of interest by keeping them in the same ward. Per the map that LVIC provided, Carson City’s indigenous population fits wholly in Ward 4. However, since Carson City votes at large, communities of interest have the same voting power as other residents.
Additionally, the supervisors will consider changes to the municipal code. Currently, they only have to adopt election maps by resolution, which would simply make it a city policy. But Carson City Charter requires that the supervisors adopt the election map by city ordinance, making it a law (and requiring two hearings).
The board will alter the municipal code to make it consistent with city charter.
They will meet at 9 a.m. in the Robert “Bob” Crowell Board Room of the Community Center on 851 E. William St.
To view the election map prior to the meeting, visit www.carson.org/redistricting2021.
The city has held previous public comment opportunities for the election map online and during the Dec. 16 meeting, but residents are still welcome to comment in-person at the beginning or end of the meeting or submit comments to publiccomment@carson.org. People may also join the meeting for public comment via telephone by dialing +1-408-418-9388 with meeting number 2496 492 4928.
The meeting will be broadcast to cable channel 191 and online at www.carson.org/granicus via the “In Progress” link next to the meeting announcement. 

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