Hearing set Jan. 25 on redistricting proposal

The Madison County Business League & Foundation is encouraging people to attend a Madison County redistricting public hearing at 6 p.m. Jan. 25 in the board room of the Madison County Office Complex at 125 West North St. in Canton.

“(Redistricting) is going to impact our county for 10 years,” said Jan Collins, executive director of MCDLF. “We want to make sure that our business leaders are aware of any changes or anything going on with the changes in the districts.”

Madison County is in the process of redrawing district lines for supervisors, election commissioners, justice court judges and constables to conform with population shifts reflected in the 2021 United States Census.

Last month, supervisors agreed to hold the public hearing saying they want to be as transparent as possible in the process and to get citizen input.

“We like to inform and educate our business leaders so that they can make wise decisions on their own,” Collins said. “We don’t take a stand one way or the other.”

Phil Buffington, government affairs committee chair for the business league, agreed on the importance of people being involved in the process.

“People need to have input,” Buffington said. “I have always been involved in politics, and I have always believed that everybody should be involved. So I’m a strong believer that you really shouldn’t complain about the political process unless you’re involved in it.”

Buffington said he believes it is important that the redrawn districts be balanced and not gerrymandered in a way that could be confusing.

“In some instances, you can have a next-door neighbor in a different area,” Buffington said. “Sometimes that’s necessary. But when you start dividing up neighborhoods like that, I think it just causes more confusion. The process ought to be more simplified and ought to be more representative to make the whole process easier for the people who vote in the elections.”

The Madison County redistricting public hearing will be at 6 p.m. Jan. 25 in the board room of the Madison County Office Complex at 125 West North St. in Canton.