JOHNSTON COUNTY – Johnston County Commissioners will adopt a new district map in early-October under a timeline released this week by County Attorney Jennifer Slusser.
It has been nearly 30 years since the district lines last changed. Commissioners must live in one of seven election districts to run for that particular seat, but they are voted on at-large.
Commissioners have been considering updating the district lines for several years due to the change in population numbers brought on by tremendous residential growth.
For example, Commission District 1, which covers northern Johnston County, currently represented 33,025 registered voters, compared to 3,467 in 1990. District 5, which covers the rapidly growing Cleveland area, now represents 31,813 voters in 2023, compared to just 6,686 in 1990.
In June 2023, the NC Senate approved a bill allowing Johnston and several other counties to amend their districts. Commissioners do not have local authority to change residency boundaries without approval from state lawmakers.
Mrs. Slusser said county staff will prepare and finalize the new district map options during the first two weeks of September. The proposed district plan will be formally presented to the Board of Commissioners during their September 18, 2023 meeting. Citizens will then be able to provide public comment, both electronically and in person.
On September 20 from 5:00pm – 7:00pm at the Johnston County Board of Commissioners meeting room, a drop-in session will be held for the public to view the maps and again submit public comments.
The Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed district map on October 2, 2023. A final plan will be adopted that same day.
On October 3, 2023 the new map will be officially submitted to the Johnston County Board of Elections Office.
The next Johnston County Commission elections take place in 2024.
Rev. Dr. Wendy Ella May are you running for board of commissioners again?
Can’t be any worse than having an accused child molestor on the board, eh? #VoteOutIncumbents