FCNC County Pages for FCNC Focus (Redraw) Counties
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Source: Wikipedia
Orange County would normally redraw county commissioner district boundaries in 2021, but FairCistrictsNC calculations indicate that the population deviation is within the 5% limit, so the county may or may not redraw. If they decide to redraw, county residents can ask for an open redistricting process and districts that fairly represent communities in the county. Below is the current county districts boundaries map, basic demographic information, and how county residents can participate in ensuring a fair redistricting process in the county.
- Orange County Website
- Board of Commissioners Website
- County Board of Elections Website
- Commissioners’ Meetings Live Streams
FCNC is not an official website of the county government.
Orange County Events:
The Orange County Commission will hear a presentation on the possible restructuring of the commission districts at a virtual business meeting on October 5 at 7:00. The current 7-member board includes 3 members from District 1 (Chapel Hill-Carrboro), 2 from District 2 (the remainder of the county), and 2 elected at large. This spring, the commission appointed an advisory group of 15 county residents to study whether this system should be changed. The committee unanimously recommended adopting a system with 7 single-member districts. More information and the report to be presented can be found here. The meeting itself can be viewed at orangecountync.gov/967/Meeting-Videos
and on Orange County Gov-TV on channels 1301 or 97.6 (Spectrum Cable).
If approved by the commission (which would happen at a later meeting), the commission restructuring would go before the voters on the Nov. 2022 ballot. If approved by the voters, implementation would be phased in beginning with the 2024 election.
General information:
The Orange County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) holds meetings open to the public, usually twice a month, 1st and 3rd Tuesday, 7pm. See BOCC web page for location details, calendars, agendas, meeting minutes. Check the BOCC website before attending a meeting — to confirm meeting details.
Volunteer
You can participate in achieving Fair Redistricting in Orange County.
When volunteers form a fair county redistricting team then progress made during the year will be reported here.
Orange County Board of Commissioners Structure
The Orange County Board of Commissioners has 7 members:
– 3 members are elected in District 1 (blue)
– 2 members are elected in District 2 (green)
– 2 are at-large members
For the 5 district seats, district residency is required, only district voters nominate for district seats in the primary, and all county voters elect for every district seat in the general election. For example, District 1 voters in the primary vote for 3 district seats (the District 1 seats) plus the 2 at-large seats, and then District 1 voters in the general election vote for all 5 district seats plus the two at-large seats. (It’s complicated!)
Commissioners serve 4-year staggered terms. Your county commission makes many decisions that affect you, including providing funds for schools, public health, and many local services, writing regulations, approving projects, and setting tax rates.
map source: Orange County website (PDF file)
Following are demographics for the county, downloaded from census.gov/quickfacts and data.census.gov/cedsci/profile in Mar. 2021. The “2019 Population Est. – Percentages” data at the county level are displayed both in the table and also below the table as a bar chart. Click on the municipality below to visit their website.