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New Districting Plan will be Implemented at the May 2023 Election
DALLAS - Today the Dallas City Council approved and adopted the new City of Dallas districting plan, which redraws the City Council district lines from which Councilmembers are elected as required by the Dallas City Charter. The City Council engages in this process after the census is released by the U.S. Census Bureau every 10 years.
“Redistricting is critical to a functioning representative democracy. I am grateful for the work of our Redistricting Commission, skillfully and fairly led by Chairman Jesse Oliver, and I am pleased that the Dallas City Council was able to coalesce around further modifications to the new map,” said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. “I would also like to thank all of our residents who participated in the process by submitting a map, providing feedback, or attending a public meeting. Public engagement is critical to building a stronger city."
Councilmembers adopted Plan ID 132918. Prior to today’s meeting, Councilmembers considered proposed modifications during the June 8 and June 22 City Council meetings. Any modification required approval by three-fourths of the City Council.
The City Council had 45 days to adopt, or modify and adopt, a new districting plan from the date the recommended plan was submitted to the mayor by the Redistricting Commission, which was May 16. With this final action, the City Council has met its 45-day charter required deadline, which is June 29.
The new districting plan will be implemented at the next general election of the City Council projected for May 6, 2023.
This redistricting cycle marks the first time since 1972, that the City is not required to fulfill the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). Historically, Section 5 of the VRA required Texas cities to obtain approval of voting changes, including City Council districting plans, from the Department of Justice prior to using them in an election. As a result of a 2014 ruling by the United States Supreme Court, the Section 5 preclearance requirement is no longer applicable.
The final map and information about the process may be viewed at DallasRedistricting.com.
For more information regarding the City of Dallas elections, visit dallas.gov.
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