The Town of Norwich is split into two House districts, under the map tentatively proposed by Legislative Apportionment Board (LAB). The Norwich Board of Civil Authority (BCA) plans to meet on Monday, October 25, 2021 to review the map.
At present, Norwich, along with Sharon, Strafford, and Thetford, are in the Windsor-Orange 2 district. It has two representatives in the Vermont House of Representatives. The LAB’s emphasis was to create single member House districts. As a result, the current Windsor-Orange 2 district was split into two House districts, each with one representative. To balance population, the LAB split Norwich.
As part of its agenda, the BCA also plans to discuss meeting with its counterparts in Sharon, Strafford, and Thetford. Boards of Civil Authority in Vermont have until November 15 to submit comments to the LAB. Thereafter, the LAB makes revisions. The final call, however, belongs to the Legislature, which can also make revisions.
In addition, the redrawn districts may have implications for the political careers of Norwich’s current two representatives to the House. Both Tim Briglin and Jim Masland live in Thetford, to my understanding. However, under the LAB map, Thetford can only send one resident as a representative to the House. If they both seek reelection in 2022, they may have to run against each other, either in the primary or general election.
The Maps
Under the proposal, Sharon and most of Norwich are in Windsor 5. The excluded portion of Norwich begins at Union Village Road and extends eastward, as best as I can tell. See map below. According to the Secretary of State website, that district includes 2931 residents of Norwich and all of Sharon’s 1560 residents.
In comparison, the new Windsor-Orange 2 district consists of Stafford, Thetford and the claw-shaped portion of Norwich. See maps below. That district includes 681 residents of Norwich as well as all of Stafford’s population of 1094 and Thetford’s of 2775.
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Every ten years, the Legislature redraws House and Senate districts. The reason is to ensure roughly equal representation in the Statehouse, reflecting the one person, one vote principle. As “local populations grow and shrink, district lines must move in such a way that each district contains about the same number of people,” said the June 24, 2021 commentary in VTDigger by the LAB. “In 2022, the ideal number of Vermonters in a single-member House district, for example, will be just under 4,300.”
The LAB vote supporting the House redistricting plan was 4-3, receiving favorable votes from representative of all three political parties, according to draft meeting minutes. A competing plan, which apparently keeps the 2012 district in place for Norwich, Sharon, Strafford, and Thetford, was not voted on.
The LAB has not yet taken up Senate redistricting.
The website of the Vermont Legislative Apportionment Board is here.
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The Norwich Board of Civil Authority will be meeting on Monday, October 25, 2021 at 7:00 PM in the Multipurpose Room in Tracy Hall.
Vermonters prefer single-member legislative districts. But are they fair?
https://vtdigger.org/2021/10/06/vermonters-prefer-single-member-legislative-districts-but-are-they-fair/
Hi, random visitor from Central Vermont here. A point to keep in mind is that according to multiple US Supreme Court rulings, the US Constitution guarantees each of us individually will have equal representation in our state governments.
That equal representation is based first and foremost on population, and all other considerations are secondary, tertiary, etc.
I hope we find a way that does not split Norwich!!