• By Todd Luck
• Posted Monday, September 13, 2021

Forsyth County commissioners to consider changes to commissioner districts

Forsyth County commissioners are considering potential redistricting for commissioners districts within the county because of population changes shown in the 2020 Census. Any potential changes would only effect the districts for county commissioners in Forsyth County and not any other elected officials.

Pursuant to the U.S. Constitution and State law, each district should ideally have a population that is proportionate to the number of commissioners elected from that district. Ideally, District A, which elects two commissioners and is primarily in East Winston, should have one-third of the county’s population, while District B, which elects four commissioners and covers the rest of the county, should have two-thirds of the population. The one at-large commissioner seat does not factor into the formula.

The 2020 Census found that the total county population was 382,590, with 123,420 residents in District A and 259,170 residents in District B. That means there’s 61,710 people per commissioner for District A and 64,793 per commissioner for District B.

Ideally, there would be 63,765 constituents for each of the six commissioners elected from a district. The ideal population for District A is 127,530 and for District B it is 255,060.

Local governments are required to redistrict if a district is 5 percent larger or smaller than the ideal size. Because District B is 1.6 percent larger than the ideal size and District A is 3.2 percent smaller, the commissioners have the option of adding a precinct to District A or keeping the current districts.

A presentation was given to county commissioners on their options on September 9, with tentative plans for the commissioners to vote on redistricting during their October 7 meeting.

During this week's presentation, four options were presented to the commissioners for precincts they could add to District A if they choose to bring the districts closer to their ideal sizes. The precincts are:

• Precinct 033, with a population of 4,360, which runs along the commercial and industrial areas on the north side of Patterson Avenue and US 52, and stretches into rural areas along Germanton Road. Its addition would make District A 0.2 percent over the ideal size.
• Precinct 122, with a population of 4,886, which runs west from Peters Creek Parkway, where Lowe’s and Wal-Mart are located, into more suburban areas. Its addition would make District A 0.6 percent over the ideal size
• Precinct 601, with a population of 2,872, runs along the southside of Salem Parkway from Salem College and Old Salem, through West Salem, and to the parking decks of Baptist Hospital along South Hawthorne Road. Its addition would make District A 1 percent under the ideal size.
• Precinct 905, with a population of 4,961, includes the northern half of Wake Forest’s campus and runs along the east side of Reynolda Road and the west side of University Parkway and Bethabara Road. Its addition would make District A 0.7 percent over the ideal size.

Precincts must be adjacent to a district to be added to it. Precincts 601 and 905 primarily consist of Qualified Census Tracts, which are lower income areas. Most precincts in District A contain Qualified Census Tracts.

Forsyth County’s two Board of Commissioners districts were created in 1989, when the North Carolina General Assembly passed a local act establishing the electoral districts. County commissioners have the ability to determine the precincts in each district. They do not have the authority to create additional districts, eliminate the current ones, or change the number of Commissioners elected from each district.