Miami-Dade commissioners approve a redistricting map without debate, but with changes

Miami-Dade County commissioners on Wednesday redrew the boundaries of the districts they represent, tweaking the electorates that will decide whether some get a second term in the coming years.

After quick endorsements of last-minute changes to some boundaries, commissioners approved a new map for the 13 districts that elect board members every two years. There was no debate about the proposed boundaries, only four commissioners asking to absorb Census tracts from neighboring districts — changes that were agreed to by the adjoining commissioners.

One commissioner, District 8’s Danielle Cohen Higgins, voted against the final map. She’s one of seven commissioners facing elections in 2022 and 2024 in the newly approved districts, with the remaining six departing due to term limits.

The map came from a citizens advisory board led by a former commissioner, Dennis Moss. It approved the proposed map unanimously on Nov. 10, based on a consultant’s initial proposal. Under county policy, the map was drawn to keep all incumbents remaining in their districts.

The changes approved on the floor moved an area south of Southwest 40th Street from District 6 to District 7; an area north of Southwest 168th Street from District 11 to District 9; an area south of Southwest 26th Street from District 10 to District 11; and an area south of Northwest 171st Street from District 1 to District 2.

A two-thirds vote on the 13-seat commission was needed to approve the new boundaries, which are based on population figures from the 2020 Census. The county’s redrawing of district boundaries ahead of the 2022 elections for the six commission seats not up for election last year overlaps with a nationwide redistricting process for local, state and federal offices.

Miami-Dade hired a redistricting firm out of Virginia, ARCBridge, and the consultant proposed new boundaries needed to adjust for population shifts over the last 10 years. Districts 8 and 9 in South Miami-Dade saw significant population growth, requiring shifting of voters out of those areas and into places in the northern part of Miami-Dade that didn’t grow as quickly.

To see if redistricting would alter commission representation for any Miami-Dade address, visit the county’s interactive version of the proposed map.

Last-minute changes affecting the seven districts were not made public before the meeting, and not part of the town halls and public meetings the advisory board held to vet proposed boundaries. J.C. Planas, an elections lawyer and board member, criticized the surprise changes. “This is extremely inappropriate,” Planas said in a Twitter post.

This story was originally published November 30, 2021 at 7:49 PM.