Stafford, Va. –– With little public input over an 18-week process to define new political boundaries, Stafford officials Tuesday night approved the county’s redistricting plan.
The plan identifies for the next 10 years the political boundaries that will be used to elect the county Board of Supervisors and School Board, as well as defines voting precincts for every election.
Three new precincts (one in the George Washington District, one in the Griffis-Widewater District and the other in the Aquia District) were created, and five polling places were moved to new locations.
Each of the county’s seven election districts now have four precincts, except for the Garrisonville District – one of the most populated but smallest magisterial district in terms of land size –– which only has three.
The magisterial districts are based on population and, by law, must be redrawn every 10 years to reflect population change.
Population in Stafford County over the past 10 years increased by 39.5 percent to nearly 129,000 residents, say officials. The new magisterial maps were drawn to include a maximum of 18,423 people in each district.
Prior to the vote, Griffis-Widewater District Supervisor Bob Woodson spoke out against a plan to place two of three sections of the county’s affluent Aquia Harbour neighborhood in the Aquia District, removing them from his district.
Now that the plans have been approved they must go before the U.S. Department of Justice for final approval, as part of the voting rights act of 1964.
