At its October 19, 2021, meeting, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors requested that seven examples of local redistricting plans serve as preliminary “starting points” for the Board and the public to consider how the county’s current population can be balanced among election districts.
The examples, prepared by county staff, are based on adjusted 2020 census data provided by the Virginia Division of Legislative Services, as well as on the Board’s adopted 2021 Redistricting Guidelines. The impact of future growth was also considered, especially in areas where the county forecasts substantial population growth from 2020 to 2030.
During November, the public will have an opportunity to view these examples and develop and submit their own plans for consideration. An online mapping tool, which will be available on the Redistricting Hub, will open to the public on November 1 for use in this process. The Board of Supervisors is expected to adopt the final plan in May 2022.
In developing these examples, county staff considered current precinct boundaries, towns, Census Designated Places (such as, but not limited to, Ashburn, Brambleton, Broadlands, Cascades, South Riding, Sterling and Stone Ridge), residential communities, historic village and community locations, and 2019 General Plan policy areas.
When possible, existing precincts were used as the basis for the examples approved by the Board at its October 19 meeting. Using existing precincts helps to ensure efficient election administration, as residents are already familiar with their precincts and a polling place is already established. In certain situations, splitting precincts may occur; these are typically situations in which the population of the existing precinct has grown significantly and where the proposed split supports balancing population and creating more uniform districts.
The local redistricting process determines which neighborhoods and communities are grouped together into a district for purposes of electing board members to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and School Board. By making sure districts have approximately the same number of people, redistricting can help to ensure residents have equal representation on the Board of Supervisors and School Board. It also affects for whom residents vote and where they vote, based on how the local electoral boundaries are drawn.
At its June 21, 2021, meeting, the Board of Supervisors voted to retain eight local election districts. Given the county’s 2020 population of 420,959, the ideal district size would be 52,641; since each district can be over or under the ideal size by five percent, the minimum district size will be 50,009 and the maximum number of residents in a district will be 55,273.
To submit general comments about the redistricting process, residents are encouraged to use this comment form. Learn more about the process at loudoun.gov/redistricting.
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