The Charlotte City Council approves new elections map. See if you changed districts.

Thousands of Charlotte residents will vote in new City Council districts after the council approved a new elections map Monday.

In establishing new voting districts to accommodate population changes, the map will shift 51,000 voters across 16 precincts. The map could stand for as long as a decade.

The most controversial shift includes changes to the Hidden Valley neighborhood, where some residents have protested their transfer from District 4, which has a plurality of Black voters, to District 1, where there are more white people.

On Monday, dozens of people showed up to protest moving the Hidden Valley neighborhood. Many wore blue medical gowns, saying they wanted to be protected from corruption. As officials approached their seats, they chanted “Hidden Valley! Hidden Valley!” A lawsuit over the Hidden Valley shift was filed in October.

“We’re going to do some work to get them all out of there,” Blanche Penn, who came in protest of the vote Monday, said of City Council members.

Braxton Winston, an at-large councilman, cast the only ‘no’ vote.

Redistricting, which occurs every 10 years with the release of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, will make the districts substantially equal in population. Since 2010, some districts have become much more populous than others.

District 3, for example, has about 141,000 residents while District 6 has just 113,600. By moving voting precincts from one district to another, elected officials are able to make the districts more equal in population.

The City of Charlotte is scheduled to hold a primary in March, with a general election in April or May. City Council elections are partisan, and the city now has seven members representing districts and four at-large members.

The new map will go into effect when the next council takes office.

Political implications for Republicans

Although redistricting in North Carolina is notoriously political, the two Republicans on City Council did not see any major setbacks as a result of Charlotte’s redistricting process. Of Charlotte’s seven district council districts, Districts 6 and 7 are represented by Republicans— both representing districts in the southern portion of the city.

The population of District 6, held by Republican Tariq Bokhari, will become slightly more Republican under the map. District 7, represented by Republican Ed Driggs, wasn’t affected by redistricting.

Both Republican districts are competitive. The plurality of voters are unaffiliated or belong to a third party. Republicans slightly outnumber Democrats in District 6. In District 7, 32.7% of registered voters are Republican and 27.2% are Democrats.

Racial/ethnic changes

Along racial and ethnic lines, the biggest change will come to District 1, which includes much of the area directly east of uptown.

District 1 will go from being 50.7% white to 41.8%; 26.3% Black to 33.6%; and 15% Hispanic to 17.2%. The Asian population will decline slightly, however.

In supporting the decision to move the Hidden Valley neighborhood, city officials have pointed to the changes in District 1. While some residents have argued that the move dilutes the neighborhood’s voting power, officials have argued that a Black candidate will stand a better shot in District 1 than ever before.

“Hidden Valley was not targeted,” said District 4 Representative Renee’ Johnson.

Charlene Henderson, a Hidden Valley resident who is running for City Council, co-signed a lawsuit hoping to stop the city from moving forward with its preferred map. The city attorney declined to provide comment about the lawsuit before the vote on Monday.

“It’s not over,” said Johnnie Erwin, who has lived in Hidden Valley for 48 years. “We’re going to stand united.”

Johnson won District 4 during the 2019 primary by a 15% margin, beating Henderson by about 1,200 votes. Of the district seats, the only truly competitive race in the 2019 primary was between Victoria Watlington and Terry Brown for District 3. Watlington won by about three percentage points.

Speaking to Hidden Valley residents on Monday, Johnson said the increase in representation in District 1 could lead to more Black political power in Charlotte.

Winston told the crowd that the redistricting process should not stop with the passage of the new map. He said he hoped the council would continue to pursue options that would dramatically change the city’s power structure, including by passing a map with 11 districts and only one at-large member.

“We didn’t just disservice the people of Hidden Valley, we did a disservice to the entirety of our constituency,” Winston said.

Bokhari said he also supported a map that would include 11 districts and one at-large member.

“As soon as we’re done passing this, I hope you all activate and say that is a must,” Bokhari told the crowd. “That is a must-do.”

How to find your Charlotte Council district

Residents can find their assigned district on the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections website.

Here’s a breakdown of precinct changes in the new map:

▪ Precincts 1, 8 and 18 make up the tip of the wedge between South Kings Drive and East 4th Street, just south of uptown. Those precincts will move from District 1 to District 6.

▪ Precincts 5 and 45 include the area north of Central Avenue between Eastway Drive and Sharon Amnity Road — the Windsor Park neighborhood — and the area around Kilborne Park. They will move from District 1 to District 5.

▪ Precinct 54, which includes Oaklawn, Genesis Park, Double Oaks and McCrory Heights, will move from District 2 to District 1.

▪ The most populous district to be moved is Precinct 211. It encompasses the area above Lakeview Road, in the northernmost part of the city. Its 12,500 residents will move from District 2 to District 4.

▪ Precincts 23 and 24 encompass the area on both sides of Freedom Drive, from Interstate 85 to where Freedom Drive hits West Morehead Street. Some of the neighborhoods include Enderly Park and Ashley Park. Both precincts will go from District 3 to District 2.

▪ Precinct 81 also moves to from District 3 to District 2. It is home to 4,890 registered voters (the second most of any district that will be moved) and includes much of the area along Freedom Drive above I-85, all the way to Old Mt. Holly Road.

▪ The Hidden Valley neighborhood, in precincts 42 and 82, will move to District 1.

▪ Precinct 26 also moves from District 4 to District 1. It encompasses much of the area north of I-85 and south of Nevin Road, including the Derita/Statesville neighborhood.

▪ Precinct 205 will move from District 4 to District 5. In east Charlotte, it is the area west of I-485 and east of Reedy Creek Park.

▪ Precinct 37 will move from District 6 to District 1. It’s a rectangle made up of the following borders: South Boulevard on the west and Park Road on the east, Woodlawn Road on the north and Tyvola Road on the south.