Public Hearings On Congressional Redistricting Begin This Week

The West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Committee on Redistricting has announced the format for public hearings on redistricting, which are set to begin July 27.

These are listening events for the public to share their thoughts about Congressional and legislative boundary lines. The West Virginia Constitution requires the Legislature to redraw these lines every 10 years using U.S. Census data to reflect any population changes.

Due to the delay in the federal government releasing Census data, specific population numbers will not be available at these events, and the committee will not be presenting any proposed maps. Legislators will not respond to questions during the public hearing.

All 12 in-person public hearings will take place from 6-8 p.m. The sign-in process will begin at 5:30 p.m. Anyone who would like to be guaranteed an opportunity to speak during the hearings will need to be present to sign in by 6 p.m. The events will begin shortly after 6 p.m. with welcome remarks and a reminder of these procedures.

The number of people who sign in to speak at each hearing will be divided by the amount of time available for the event to determine the amount of time each person will have to speak. A red light will indicate when each speaker has reached that time limit.

You can find more information on the process online.

Hearings are scheduled for the following dates and locations, and are subject to change:

July 27: Putnam County Judicial Building, The Courtroom, Room 202, 12093 Winfield Road Winfield, WV 25213

July 29: Chief Logan Lodge Hotel Conference Center, 1000 Conference Center Drive, Logan, WV 25601

Aug. 3: Tamarack, Gov. Hulett C. Smith Theater 1 Tamarack Park, Beckley, WV 25801

Aug. 4: Summersville Arena & Conference Center 3 Armory Way, Summersville, WV 26651

Aug. 10: Stonewall Resort State Park, Birch Room, 149 State Park Trail, Roanoke, WV 26447

Aug. 12: Monongalia County Extension Services & 4H Center at Mylan Park, 270 Mylan Park Lane, Morgantown, WV 26501

Aug. 17: Martinsburg Sheriff’s Office Meeting Room 510 S Raleigh St, Martinsburg, WV 25401

Aug. 18: Keyser VFD Station 2, 1550 Cornell St Keyser WV 26726

Aug. 24: Wheeling Independence Hall, 1528 Market St, Wheeling, WV 26003

Aug. 26: Cabell County Courthouse, Courtroom #1 Judge Paul Farrell’s courtroom 750 5th Ave, Huntington, WV 25701

Sept. 9: The Culture Center, Building 9, Capitol Complex, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25305

Sept. 16: Judge Donald F. Black, Courthouse Annex,317 Market St, Parkersburg, WV 26101