The equal protection clause of the United States Constitution requires that where electoral districts are used, they must be substantially equal in population so that each person's vote counts about the same.

Municipalities in North Carolina such as Cary that use election districts are legally required to consider redistricting every 10 years following the U.S. decennial census to maintain a population balance among electoral districts. In addition to mandating redistricting activities following a decennial census, NC law (§ 160A-23) gives municipalities the authority “to revise electoral district boundaries from time to time.”

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2021 Approved Map

View a map of the 2021 precinct changes made by the Wake County Board of Elections.

On November 9, 2021, the Cary Town Council adopted Proposed Map Option 1 as the new map of electoral district boundaries. Please note that the linked map label, Proposed Map Option 1, reflects precinct 12-05 which was changed by the Wake County Board of Election. Please see map which will be available above.

District Open Houses

As part of 2021's redistricting education efforts, Cary held District Open Houses to give citizens the opportunity to learn more about redistricting and town services, with the following schedule:

District C, Sunday, November 21, 2021 | 2 – 3:30 p.m.
Location: Middle Creek Community Center, 125 Middle Creek Park Ave, Apex, NC 27539

District A, Monday, November 22, 2021 | 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Location: Fire Station No. 5, 2101 High House Rd, Cary, NC 27519

District D, Thursday, December 2, 2021 | 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Location: Fire Station No. 8, 408 Mills Park Dr, Cary, NC 27519

District B, Saturday, December 4, 2021 | 3:30 - 5 p.m. 
Location: Cary Town Hall, 316 N. Academy Street, Cary, NC 27513

Public Comment Opportunities

Citizens were encouraged to submit comments between October 8 until November 9, 2021. Comments were accepted in writing, verbally, and through our 311 portal. There was also an opportunity to participate in the Redistricting Public Hearing that was held on October 21. All comments were shared with the Town Council prior to the November 9th vote. 

Please note the documents below were created for Cary's Redistricting Process in Fall of 2021. Some information may be dated if the Board of Elections has changed any precincts. Please see the map above for the current view of Council Districts, including precinct information from the Board of Elections.

• Proposed Map Option 1
• Proposed Map Option 2
• Table of District Population per Option
• Table of Proposed Precinct Changes
• Slides from September 23, 2021 work session
• Current Development Heat Map
• 2011-21 Growth Heat Map
• Developments: Active & Approved
• 2011 District Map with Precincts
• June 2021 District Map with Precincts
• Precinct District Assignments: 2011-Today

Fall 2021 Redistricting Update

While the previous Cary district boundary map adopted by Council in June 2021 greatly improved the population balance between districts, it failed to meet the +/- 5 percent population variance test for all districts. Both districts B and C will need to gain population, and District D will need to lose population as follows:

Total Population as of April 1, 2020 = 174,721
Ideal/Target District Population = 43,680
Maximum/Minimum Deviation = 5%
1% = 437

Once again, our approach in developing two new map options for Council’s consideration will be to keep the new map as intact as possible by moving as few precincts as possible; and we will continue to abide by both the Legal Requirements and the Guiding Principles used this spring. We will also follow all requirements of S.B. 722 signed into law by NC Governor Roy Cooper this summer.

To meet the deadlines established in S.B. 722, our proposed schedule is:

• September 13: Staff has received two map options
• September 23: Council selects one of two map options for public comment: Option 1 | Option 2
• October 1: Public comment period begins
• October 21: Council holds a public hearing on the proposed new map option(s); public comment period ends
• November 9: Council adopts new map
• November 10: Redistricting Team delivers new map to Wake, Chatham, and Durham boards of elections
• December 6: Candidate filing begins
• December 17: Candidate filing ends
• May 17, 2022: 2021 Cary Municipal Election

2021 Legal Guidelines for Redistricting

The guidelines below are derived from State statutes, court rulings, and the Wake County Board of Elections. (Chapter 160A-23 of the N.C. General Statutes has more information on redistricting for cities and towns.)

• District size by population - Council districts must be balanced based on district population, not on the number of registered voters. Redistricting for Council districts should be based on an official enumeration of population, such as a special census or Decennial Census, and must be based on the most recent census
• Size of districts - State law and federal courts require that the four Town Council districts contain roughly equivalent populations, and be within 5% of the ideal district size.
• District boundaries and precincts - Council district boundaries should generally not split precinct boundaries, in order to lessen voter confusion and conserve government resources. Boundaries of districts should follow some established line of demarcation such as roads.
• Residency requirement - Council members must reside within the district from which they are elected.

2021 Redistricting Guiding Principles

In addition to applicable legal mandates and to help guide their collective thinking on the detailed decisions that must be made about district boundaries, the Town Council adopts guiding principles to assist the staff and consultants in preparing district boundary map alternatives.

The Cary Town Council affirmed using 2011’s Guiding Principles for 2021 as follows:

• Use existing district boundaries as the starting point for making changes to new Council district boundaries, being sure to keep existing Council members in the district to which they were elected (no “double bunking”); and,
• Use Wake and Chatham counties’ voting precincts as the building blocks for changes, and don’t split precincts; and,
• District boundaries should follow major geographic features such as roads; and,
• Keep major neighborhoods/developments in single Council districts; and,
• Consider projected growth when establishing district boundaries.

In 2011, the Cary Town Council also considered whether there should be one or two Council representatives for the older parts of Cary within the Maynard Loop, and whether redistricting should provide an opportunity for more than one Council representative in the developing western areas of Cary

Local Redistricting Service

Cary contracted with consultants affiliated with the Local Redistricting Service (LRS) to assist with the 2021 effort. LRS’ project teams are comprised of North Carolina attorneys and demographers who are experienced in drawing districts for local governments and are committed to an open, nonpartisan redistricting process.

Background

The Cary Town Council completed pre-census redistricting by adopting a new map of municipal electoral district boundaries at their regular meeting on June 24, 2021. The new map will be reevaluated once census data is released later this year. 

Prior to 2021, Cary's last redistricting was performed in 2011 following receipt of the official 2010 population count from the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Cary Council districts were originally adopted in 1975. To keep pace with Cary's changing population, Cary has voluntarily redistricted numerous times. Redistricting has occurred in the years: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001, and 2011.

N.C. Legislative & Congressional Redistricting

Members of the United States House of Representatives, the North Carolina Senate, and the North Carolina House of Representatives are elected by district. The North Carolina General Assembly is required to redraw these districts following each decennial census due to population changes and the need to maintain equal representation. This activity is similar to but not connected with Cary's local redistricting effort. Learn more.

More on the 2011 Redistricting

On May 26, 2011, the Cary Town Council adopted new council districts to balance the population in each district following the 2010 Census. Town of Cary citizens affected by the mandated redistricting efforts received notification of their new voting precinct. The new Council districts were put in place during the Oct. 11, 2011 municipal election.

Contact

Virginia Johnson
Town Clerk
Town Clerk's Office
(919) 460-4941
virginia.johnson@townofcary.org