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Politics & Government

Redistricting Plan Goes to Legislators

A committee recommended that both the school board and county commission seats be voted on by residents in each post's district.

The Cherokee County legislative delegation could introduce new redistricting guidelines to the House of Representatives as early as today.

According to the Cherokee Tribune, the Blue Ribbon Committee, which was tasked with redistricting the county  and  posts, has recommended the seats on both be voted on by residents in those specific districts. The committee also is recommending that the school board and commission chairman seats be elected at-large.

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The committee originally decided that the seven school board seats should be elected at-large, but that recommendation lost by one vote at a meeting on Monday night. The Board of Education seats currently are voted on countywide, though the representatives are required to live within their districts. The board elects a chairman and vice chairman at its first meeting of the year.

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While the committee changed its mind regarding the school board's districts, it did keep the county's four-member plus a chairman structure in place. Currently, the eastern side of the county votes for the commissioners to represent Posts 1 and 2 while the western portion of the county votes for the Post 3 and 4 seats. The chairman is elected by voters countywide.

While one member of the Board of Commissioners said the redistricting guidelines will make things simpler for voters, other officials told The Cherokee Tribune that they weren't happy with the proposal, saying it would "dilute the voting power of residents" and that "legislators would be overruling the majority of the commission’s wishes."

Find out what's happening in Canton-Sixeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

School board member Janet Read told the newspaper that opening up the chairman's position to be voted on by residents means that candidates without any experience could run for the post.

"You’re only going to have to please the people in your post," she told the newspaper. "I think it will become, ‘what can I do for the people who are my neighbors?'"

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