Northeast San Antonio Metrocom Edition - January 2022

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the way across the county.” Around 13,000 people live close to the court on Elbel Road, Carpen- ter said. The change would allow them to use the court closest to their residences. “For standard civil cases, it may be the case that a [Justice of Peace] can hear the complaint from another area of the county, but evictions have to come from the precinct that the prop- erty is in,” Carpenter said. Under this new change, Precinct 3 will stretch farther south of Elbel Road, and residents that live south of Schertz Parkway toward FM 78 will be repre- sented by Carpenter, the Precinct 3 Constable and [Justice of Peace] Court. This is also a change for residents who live north of Pfeil Road and North Main Street. They will now be in Pre- cinct 4 represented by Judy Cope. Future city districts In addition to county changes, resi- dents may also see changes at the city level. On the November 2020 ballot, voters in Cibolo passed a proposition that would allow the city to redesign its districts and City Council makeup. Under the new proposition, there will be four single-member district City Council positions that represent geographical areas and three at-large positions that will represent the city as a whole. According to 2020 census data, Cibolo reached a population of 32,276, more than doubling the 2010 population of 15,349. According to City Manager Wayne Reed, the three council members that will be elected in November 2022 will continue to serve the districts that were in place at the time of their election. However, in November 2024, elec- tions will be held for newly created districts 1 and 4, and at-large districts

CONTINUED FROM 1

COMAL COUNTY CHANGES During redistricting, Comal County redrew the lines of precincts 1 and 2 on the westernmost edge of the county.

BEXAR COUNTY CHANGES Bexar County made changes to Precinct 2 and gave more voting population to Precinct 4.

county, in order tomaintain a balanced precinct population prole, we have to do it,” Carpenter said. “Ten years is really a minimum of when we are required to do it at the time of census.” The change in population really drives the need, he said. “Anytime you have one commis- sioner whose precinct is 10- or 15% larger or smaller than another, it can cause all kinds of challenges,” Carpen- ter said. Redistricting maps are redrawn every 10 years when the new census data is available and serve to evenly divide the state, counties and cities to be fair, states the Texas Redistrict- ing Board. These new maps will come into play later when residents head to the polls for city and state elections. Guadalupe precinct changes Prior to releasing new maps, the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court held two meetings on Nov. 2 and Nov. 9 to review census data and redraw the precinct lines. Between the 2010 and 2020 census, the popu- lation increased by 41,173. Under the new Guadalupe County precinct lines, Precinct 3 will include Voter Precinct 403, the sub-precinct south of Elbel Road. Carpenter said he was in favor of this change and wants to serve the community that is closest to the Jus- tice of Peace Court within Precinct 3. “What I have seen in the building on Elbel [Road] is that folks come in that live in close proximity to that build- ing, expecting that is their [Justice of Peace] Court, and that is where their constable is located,” Carpenter said. “They get quite frustrated when they nd out they need to drive a third of

Precinct 1

Precinct 2

Precinct 3

Precinct 4

BEFORE

281

337

AFTER

281

337

SOURCES: COMAL COUNTY AND BEXAR COUNTYCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

Helotes, and moving the entirety of the city into Precinct 3. Also, Precinct 4 saw an increase in geographic area, with neighborhoods east of US 281 that were formerly part of Precinct 1 now being part of Precinct 4. The increased area added over 5,000 peo- ple to the voting population. Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert said he was not in favor of adding this area because the Pre- cinct 4 Constable was short on sta- ing and the additional people would hinder the eectiveness of precinct resources. Despite Calvert’s objec- tions, the amendment to the redis- tricting plan passed 3-2. Calvert and new Precinct 3 Commissioner

5 and 6. In November 2025, elections will be held for newly created districts 2 and 3, at-large district 7 and mayor. The goal is to have the new bound- aries ready for the November 2024 election with the city working on the process more in 2023, Reed said. County, state changes Other municipalities within the northeast metrocom have also under- gone redistricting. Bexar County Com- missioners reviewed three plans in November, each dividing the county’s population, which grew by 294,551, into dierent precinct variations. The majority of the county’s redis- tricting discussion centered on

GUADALUPE VOTER POPULATION Under the redistricting plan, this is the new population breakdown.

Hispanic % of Total Voting Age Population

Non-Hispanic Anglo % Non-Hispanic Black %

Non-Hispanic Other % Non-Hispanic Asian %

Precinct 1 Total Voting Age Population: 33,887 31.77% 2.89% 0.99% 60.69%

Precinct 2 Total Voting Age Population: 30,737 50.71% 4.28% 0.80% 41.63%

Precinct 3 Total Voting Age Population: 31,526 27.31% 53.02%

Precinct 4 Total Voting Age Population: 32,072 28.70% 52.72%

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

20 30 40 50 60

10.79%

10.92%

3.52%

2.55%

3.67%

2.57%

5.35%

5.12%

0 10

Voter population by race and ethnicity

SOURCES: GUADALUPE COUNTY, BICKERSTAFF HEATH DELGADO ACOSTA LLPCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM