With a 5.3 percent growth rate reflected in the City of Petal in the United State’s Census Bureau’s 2020 census, city officials are considering redistricting the lines of the city’s six wards to help ensure that each ward has approximately an equal number of residents.
Michael Slaughter, owner and founder of Slaughter & Associates Urban Planning Consultants in Oxford, recently visited the Petal Board of Aldermen to discuss the matter. The redistricting process could see changes in the boundaries in each of the city’s wards, which Slaughter said would help each ward hit its ideal population to better comply with the one-person/one-vote principle according to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“In other words, we don’t want to stack one ward with 5,000 people and spread another thousand in each ward,” Slaughter told board members. “That 5,000 people only have one voice, as compared to the other thousand that would have their own.
“We also keep in mind the impact on minority voting strength. There are a number of criteria – we don’t want to redistrict any of (the board members) out of your wards if we have to redistrict … and we want to have the minimal amount of change that we can in the wards.”
The redistricting process is considered every 10 years, after each census. Equal distribution is considered to be a total population deviation of 10 percent or less between the smallest and largest populated voting districts as compared to the ideal population.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Petal’s population rose to 11,010, which is up 556 residents from the 10,454 counted in the 2010 U.S. Census. That would make the ideal population of each ward in Petal 1,835 residents.
“In other words, if we had every ward on that exact population, then there’d be no deviation at all, but that’s not going to happen – that never happens,” Slaughter said. “Some wards are going to have a population above that ideal; some of them are going to have populations below that ideal population.
“So the percent difference between that ideal number and the largest populated ward – plus the percent difference between that ideal population and the smallest populated ward – doesn’t need to be greater than 10 percent.”
Broken down by race and ethnicity, The City of Petal’s population is as follows:
- White: 8,305 residents, or 75.4 percent, in 2020. In 2010, that number was 8,997, or 86.1 percent.
- Black: 1,613 residents, or 14.7 percent, in 2020. In 2010, that number was 1,039, or 9.9 percent.
- American Indian: 35 residents, or 0.3 percent, in 2020. In 2010, that number was 25, or 0.2 percent.
- Pacific Islander: One resident, or 00. percent, in 2020. In 2010, that number was 0.
- Other: 360 residents, or 3.3 percent, in 2020. In 2010, that number was 139, or 1.3 percent.
- Two or more: 611 residents, or 5.5 percent, in 2020. In 2010, that number was 176, or 1.7 percent.
- Hispanic or Latino: 614 residents, or 5.6 percent, in 2020. In 2010, that number was 361, or 3.5 percent.
The Pine Belt News made several calls to the Slaughter & Associates office for numbers showing the population of each ward, but those calls were unreturned.
If redistricting is necessary, public awareness will be provided and officials also seek public input, such as in public hearings or meetings to discuss the process. A new plan would be implemented, which also will be put up for public review, before being adopted and implemented.
Voter rolls would then be updated accordingly.
“We want to keep the public informed along the process if we have to redistrict,” Slaughter said. “The reason is because, there may be some (residents) … who are going to shift from one alderman to another aldermen.
“So we want to be sure they understand why we’re redistricting, and the reasons we’re having to shift these lines, so we can have their input.”
