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CITY OF ORONO MEMORANDUM <br />DATE: February 28, 2022 <br />TO: Orono City Council <br />FROM: Anna Carlson, City Clerk <br />RE: Redistricting Update <br />1.Purpose. The purpose of this memo is to provide an update to the City Council <br />regarding redistricting for the City’s voting locations. <br />2.Background. Redistricting is the process of redrawing the boundaries of election districts <br />to ensure that the people of each district are equally represented. It is typically done in the <br />United States every ten years, after the completion of the decennial Census. <br />City governments must reestablish all precincts after state redistricting. Redistricting is a <br />good time to realign precincts to eliminate precincts split by school districts, adjust, add, <br />or remove precincts to accommodate population changes, or to change polling places. <br />3.Precinct Changes. Currently the City of Orono has four precincts within its jurisdiction. <br />After thorough review of the changes in boundaries and election administration input, <br />staff has determined that modifying the number of precincts and precinct boundaries in <br />Orono will better suit the needs of the City’s voters and the overall administration of <br />elections. These changes will also create the need to change the names for precincts as <br />well. A resolution will be presented to the City Council at the March 14, 2022 City <br />Council Meeting. <br />Combination of Precincts. Prior to the state legislative redistricting process, Orono was <br />divided by State House Districts 33A and 33B which created the need for two separate <br />precincts which were precinct 2 & 3A. Following the latest redistricting process, Orono <br />is now wholly in State House District 45A. This creates the opportunity to combine <br />precincts 2 & 3A into one precinct. There are several benefits for combining which <br />include: <br />•Less confusion for voters on Election Day <br />•Less overall expenditures <br />•More convenience in a larger space <br />Boundary Line Adjustment. The boundary line of Precinct 4A has been adjusted to <br />follow Watertown Road. The changes that take place due to this adjustment include: <br />•Lessens the number of voters that will vote in Precinct 4A <br />•Will accommodate the future development that has or will be taking place <br />within the precinct boundary <br />•Creates a better flow and room for voters on Election Day. Please note, we <br />anticipate the number of voters to be slightly higher then what is shown due <br />to new developments that took place after the census.