BEMIDJI — After tabling the topic for further discussion at its March 7 meeting , the Bemidji City Council will hold a special session on Friday to consider what redistricting the city’s wards might look like.
Redistricting is a process that occurs every 10 years following the census and works to ensure that each legislative district has a relatively equal number of constituents within its boundaries and to help promote fair representation in elections.
The city council originally received one option for redistricted city wards, but the discussion around the topic favored the idea of having multiple options to consider before moving forward with an ordinance to make a new map official.
Ultimately a vote passed 5-2 to table the topic to allow for more options to be drawn up for consideration, and a special session was scheduled for March 18.
At the upcoming session, the council will consider a total of four potential maps for redistricting the city’s wards, including the original proposal presented to the council.
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There are also concerns of time since the state has a deadline of March 29 for cities to turn in their redistricted maps, something the city of Bemidji would not have been able to meet even if the plan had moved forward at the last session.
The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. on March 18 at City Hall.
