MEDIA ALERT: For immediate release WHEN: January 14, 2013 WHAT: Rankin County Democrats express concerns

about county redistricting CONTACT: Atlee Breland, 601-209-1359/rankincountydemocrats@gmail.com RANKIN DEMOCRATS QUESTION COUNTY REDISTRICTING The Rankin County Democrats wish to express our very serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the redistricting process of the Rankin County Board of Supervisors. It has come to our attention that the Board held a vote in December 2012 on its proposed redistricting plan without having properly advertised a public hearing as required by state law. On December 17, 2012, board minutes show that the Board of Supervisors approved its proposed redistricting plan. The minutes claim that a public hearing was held in advance of the vote. However, a review of minutes from prior meetings in November and December do not show that a motion was ever adopted to set the date of a public hearing. Local media outlets did not publish any public notices of a hearing on December 17. No information about the boundaries of the proposed districts appears to have been made available to the general public. The Rankin Board of Supervisors has a history of attempting to conceal controversial actions such as tax increases from the public. In this case, the secretive actions of the Board of Supervisors have denied Rankin County voters the opportunity to view the map or to raise questions about its impact. We question whether the Board's action to approve the redistricting was legal, given that the public was not given the opportunity to examine the proposed plan as required by law. A copy of the map obtained by the Rankin Democrats reveals potential concerns over convoluted boundaries and dilution of minority voting strength, which could lead the Department of Justice to deny the proposal under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The Rankin County Democrats urge all Rankin County citizens to immediately contact the Board of Supervisors and demand the opportunity for the public to comment. We also encourage state officials to review the legality of the Board's actions. We will be contacting the Department of Justice to express our reservations about the adoption of the redistricting plan. The Board of Supervisors will hold its next scheduled meeting on Tuesday, January 15, at 9:00 AM in the Supervisors Boardroom of the Rankin County Courthouse Complex. We strongly encourage all interested voters and other parties to attend the meeting and voice these serious concerns about the adoption of the redistricting plan.
Rankin County Democratic Executive Committee Post Office Box 54361, Pearl, Mississippi 39288 www.rankindemocrats.net