NATCHEZ, Miss. – The city board reviewed plans Tuesday for redrawing Natchez wards to reflect population changes and ensure the six aldermen’s districts have nearly the same number of people.
A Nov. 22 public hearing has been set for constituents to learn more about the redrawn electoral lines and provide input before the Board of Aldermen adopts the new wards. The map and data for the proposed constituencies will be posted on the city’s website. The municipal election is in 2024.
Two Natchez wards – 2 and 5 — have declined in population and two – 3 and 6 — have grown, necessitating some constituents being shifted into different voting precincts, according to a report presented to the board. Ward 1 needs to be slightly redrawn while Ward 4 can remain the same.
Wards are required by law to be roughly equal in population to ensure they’re not malapportioned and that all city voters have fair representation on the six-member Board of Aldermen. Each ward should have about 2,420 people, according to Tommie Cardin, the city’s redistricting attorney.
As the new electoral lines must be drawn to adhere to the Voting Rights Act, the six wards’ Black voting-age population remains essentially the same, Cardin said. The board currently has four Black aldermen and two White members.
Natchez is about 64 percent Black and 34 percent White, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
The city had about 15,800 people in 2010 and dropped to 14,500 in 2020 – a decline of nearly 1,300.
Cardin noted the proposed ward maps were drafted to ensure the six board incumbents are not moved to another ward and potentially be put on the re-election ballot against a fellow alderman.
Ward 1 is currently represented by Valencia Hall; Ward 2: Billie Joe Frazier; Ward 3: Sarah Carter Smith; Ward 4: Felicia Irving; Ward 5: Ben Davis; Ward 6: Dan Dillard. Smith has said she’s not running for re-election in 2024. It’s uncertain what the other incumbents’ plans are.
Cardin pointed to the importance of Natchez residents knowing details of the proposed ward lines and the impact they’ll have on the 2024 ballots of candidates wanting to represent them as aldermen. “We need as much public input as we can possibly get,” he said.
Cardin was hired by the Board of Aldermen a year ago to help redraw the city’s election districts, as required every 10 years to reflect population changes. The attorney from the Jackson-based Butler Snow law firm has provided aldermen the demographic and legal expertise needed to reconfigure the six wards before the 2024 election.
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