Menifee Redistricting Committee votes on three maps for approval

The Menifee Redistricting Committee completed their task yesterday in making three potential maps that adjust the boundary lines of the city’s four districts.

The maps were selected through a series of voting, and the top three were sent to National Demographics Corporation that evening.

Members of the committee had five maps to choose from after they each brought in one of their own. The maps were labeled A, B, C, D, and E, and were voted on three times until there were clear winners.

The Menifee Redistricting Committee used three rounds of voting to select three majority maps to be sent to National Demographics Corporation for approval.

Map B, drawn by committee member Chad Warren, received a majority vote in the first round. Map E, created by committee chair Anne Pica, received three votes during that same round. After a third round of voting, Map C, done by committee member Joe Daugherty , made the cut.

Map B, drawn by committee member Chad Warren, received five votes during the first round of voting.

Map C, drawn by committee member Joe Daugherty, received the majority of votes during the third round of voting.

Map E, drawn by committe chair Anne Pica, received three votes during the first round of voting.

The committee agreed that all three of the maps were good choices, but Warren’s map proved to be everyone’s favorite.

“I thought it had very clean boundaries, it kept everyone where they belong, and it was well under the deviation,” Pica said of Map B.

Committee member Grant Yoders said, “Any of the five maps would’ve been okay, but Map B had very straight boundaries that didn’t protrude.”

It is expected that the committee will hear from National Demographics Corporation before their next meeting about whether or not the maps are legal. If the maps aren’t legal, the committee will have to adjust or redraw the maps. After that, the three maps will be sent to City Council where one of them will be chosen.

“I can foresee no problems. Everything was within the parameters,” said Yoders, who described the mapping process as being “a piece of cake.”

“People had this mindset that we were redistricting, and we’re not,” he said. “All we had to do was take the four districts we originally voted on and adjust the boundaries.”

After the meeting adjourned, Pica congratulated everyone who participated. “I’m glad it was an open process, and that everyone was aware of what was going on in these meetings,” she said.

The Menifee Redistricting Committee will meet again this Thursday at 4 p.m. inside City Hall. Residents are encouraged to attend.