Due to required redistricting at all levels of government after the 2020 U.S. Census, some voters may now be assigned to different districts and have different representatives.
Here's what you should know:
- Your Congressional District may have changed if you live on the east side of Walton County.
- Your County Commission and School Board District may have changed.
- There will be no changes to voting precincts or polling places in Walton County due to redistricting.
- For more information, including links to maps, please see below:
What is redistricting?
Each of Florida's 28 United States Representatives, 40 State Senators, and 120 State Representatives are elected from political divisions called districts. The Walton County Commission and School Board also have districts. Redistricting is the process of updating the maps for these various districts to balance the population after each census.
Why do districts change?
Every ten years, the United States census counts each person in the country. The Census Bureau uses this information to assign seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to each state. This is known as “reapportionment.” Since Florida’s population increased, we gained a seat in the House of Representatives, growing from 27 to 28 seats. Legislators must draw new district lines to add the new seat to Florida’s map of congressional districts.
Elected officials must also make sure that the population is evenly distributed across all the districts, at both the state and local levels. Since populations change over time, district lines are redrawn so that each district has the same number of people. This ensures that every voter has the same amount of power when casting their ballot. This is done at every level of government in accordance with the governing documents.
How does redistricting affect me?
Redistricting may change your elected representative(s) and for some, it could change which Congressional contest appears on your ballot. Also, your assigned districts are important if you want to run for office. The Walton County Elections office has updated maps and voter records to reflect these changes. You may also view the current office holders and offices on the Office Holders page. For many voters, districts may be the same as before.
Voting precinct boundaries and polling places will NOT be changing. Six voting precincts were affected by the new congressional district line. The affects did not warrant making changes to voting precinct boundaries or polling places. Rather than making extensive changes, we will handle the changes internally. This is better for the voters and saves money. The new county commission and school board districts have no effect on voting precincts or polling places because those districts are voted on at-large countywide.
Locally, county commission and school board districts are voted on by all voters in the county, so all voters will still be able to vote for all 5 commission seats and all 5 school board seats when they appear on the ballot. At the State level, Walton County has no change and is covered countywide by State Senate District 2 and State House District 5. At the Federal level, Walton County will now be split vertically (north to south) by a Congressional boundary line between Districts 1 and 2. The west side of Walton County will remain in Congressional District 1, and the east side of Walton County will now be in Congressional District 2.
Updated maps for each district can be found below:
If you are unable to determine your districts by looking at the maps, you may also contact our office and we can tell you.
Where can I learn more about redistricting?
You can view information about the 2020 U.S. Census from the United States Census Bureau website.
You can learn more about U.S. House, Florida Senate, and Florida House redistricting by visiting the Florida Legislature’s Redistricting website.
The meeting minutes and/or signed resolution from each local board putting map 23A into effect for county commission and school board districts can be found at the links below:
Legal References
- Article I, Section 2, U.S. Constitution - Mandates that apportionment of representatives among the states must be conducted every 10 years. Also empowers Congress to conduct the census.
- Voting Rights Act of 1965 – Prohibits voting practices and procedures, including redistricting, which discriminate based on race, color, or membership in a language minority group.
- Florida Constitution, Article III, Section 16 - Requires the Florida Legislature to divide the state into 30 to 40 contiguous senatorial districts and 80 to 120 contiguous house districts.
- Florida Constitution, Article III, Sections 20 & 21 - Prohibits line-drawing that intentionally favors or disfavors a political party or an incumbent.
- Florida Constitution, Article VIII, Section 1(e) – Sets the size of county commissions at five or seven members and requires redistricting after each census. Districts must be of contiguous territory and nearly equal population.
- Florida Constitution, Article IX, Section 4(a) – Creates school boards and districts.
- Section 11.031, Florida Statutes – Requires that Florida Legislature exclusively use data from the U.S. Census Bureau to redraw districts.
- Section 124.01, Florida Statutes – Sets standards for county commissioner districts.
- Section 1001.36, Florida Statutes – Sets standards for school board districts.