DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - The Macon County Board voted Thursday night to reduce its size from 21 to 15 members. A new redrawn map divides the county up into five districts, with three board members to be elected from each district.
Democrats and voting advocates are calling the move racial gerrymandering.
"The NAACP does not agree with the changes that have been put forth for the district,” Michael Diggs, vice president of the NAACP Decatur branch, said during the public comment portion of the board meeting.
The 2020 census showed Macon County lost about 6% of its population from 2010 to 2020. So Republicans on the board said it’s time to reduce the number of representatives and save the county money.
But demonstrators, who came out to protest before the meeting, said the map divides the minority communities in Decatur, watering down the vote for communities of color.
"Do we as a county want to send the message that certain voters and districts are more important than others?" Jacob Ham asked of the board in challenging the proposed map.
Board member Karl Coleman believes the plan for redistricting will not only disenfranchise voters, but could also violate the Voting Rights Act.
"The highest threshold of representation on any of those districts would have been 22% for African-Americans. That's a dramatic shift from having a majority-minority district. And that was and still is one of the main legal questions presented for and about this map," Coleman explained.
Republicans insist the map wasn’t redrawn based on the racial makeup of the districts, but on population changes over the past 10 years. The changes will go into effect in 2022.
Activists echoed calls Thursday night for a civil suit to be filed against Macon County. WAND News will continue to follow this developing story.
