An Indian Land vote will soon carry more weight. What it means for the growing area
Votes from the Lancaster County panhandle are going to count more, soon.
Lancaster County Council will meet Monday to finalize redistricting. Every 10 years, the county uses federal census population data to redraw its voting lines. New districts are required to balance population changes. Most the county’s growth over the past decade was in the Indian Land panhandle, which will mean a louder political voice when the new lines are set.
The panhandle has two of seven Council seats. The new map up for a final vote Monday gives the panhandle three seats.
The new map also gives greater weight to Indian Land votes. Because current districts were set a decade ago, spread evenly then countywide, there are far more people in panhandle districts today than in the other five. More people in a district mean each vote, relatively, counts a little less than it would in a district with fewer people.
District numbers
If the seven districts were split evenly, each would have 13,717 people. The northernmost Indian Land panhandle district, Dist. 7, has more than 8,700 more people, or 63% more people than evenly split districts would have. Dist. 7 has double or more the total population of every other Lancaster County district, except its nearest neighbor.
Dist. 1 runs from about Sun City to north of Lancaster, and includes the Van Wyck area. Geographically, it covers a little more of the panhandle than Dist. 7 does. Dist. 1 has about 6,200 more people than an even district would, or almost 46% more.
All non-panhandle districts have between 2,200 and 3,500 fewer people today, or 17-26% fewer, than even districts would.
New district map
The new map up for vote Monday shrinks the geography for existing panhandle districts, and adds a new one.
The northernmost area would now be in Dist. 4. It runs from the North Carolina line and Charlotte border to north of the county convenience center and sheriff’s office substation. The smallest geographic district is entirely west of U.S. 521.
The new Dist. 1 picks up where Dist. 4 stops and goes south, almost entirely west of U.S. 521, until it reaches south of the panhandle. It includes Sun City, several schools and the Rock Hill Highway connection.
Dist. 7 could run east of U.S. 521, or Charlotte Highway, from the state line to almost Rebound Road on the south. It would be the second smallest district by land mass.
The new map would put more people in the panhandle districts than those in the south. Yet the panhandle districts would only have 2-6% more people than if all districts had the same number. State law, the Home Rule Act of 1975, allows districts to vary by up to 10%. Districts outside the panhandle would range from less than 1% to almost 4% fewer residents than an even split, according to new map.
District demographics
Today, 82% of Dist. 1 and 73% of Dist. 7 — the two existing panhandle districts — are white. Less than 10% of either district is Black.
Dist. 2 in the downtown Lancaster area is the only district with a Black majority — 58% Black, 31% white.
Under the new district map:
▪ Dist. 1 (81%), Dist. 7 (75%) and Dist. 4 (69%) show a white majority. All three districts are about 10% Black. The districts range from 5-10% Hispanic.
▪ Dist. 2 in Lancaster would remain the only Black majority at 54% Black, 33% white and 10% Hispanic.
Council district map vote
The special called meeting to finalize lines begins at 6 p.m. Monday at Council Chambers in Lancaster.
Residents will have an opportunity to address Council.
Due to COVID-19, the county began live streaming meetings on its Youtube page.
