City Council Considers Proposed Ward Map As Redistricting Process Moves Forward

Oklahoma City’s ward boundaries will shift this spring in a once-in-a-decade requirement to rebalance the population in OKC’s eight wards as a result of population growth.

A proposed ward map, viewable at okc.gov/redistricting, was introduced by City staff during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The proposed map takes into account public input received in January and February.

A public hearing to get feedback on the proposed map will be held during the March 15 City Council meeting. If there are no changes, the new ward map will be adopted on March 29 and take effect on April 1.

The ward boundary changes, called redistricting, is a requirement of both federal law and City Charter following the release of the U.S. Decennial Census. According to the 2020 Census, the population in Oklahoma City climbed from 579,999 in 2010 to 681,054 in 2020. Higher rates of growth on the north and west sides (wards 1, 3 and 8) spurred the need to rebalance the population. The target population set for each ward based on the Census data is 85,132.

Oklahoma City was last redistricted in 2011. A current ward map can be viewed at https://www.okc.gov/residents/ward-map.

Criteria used to redistrict

City Council members passed a resolution on Sept. 28, 2021, approving the following redistricting criteria. Boundaries must:

1. Be balanced to +/- 2 percent of the average ward population
2. Be contiguous and as compact as possible
3. Not unseat current councilmembers

Other recommended criteria include not breaking up established neighborhoods and business districts as well as using highways, major roads and natural borders as ward boundaries. 

“We worked hard to balance the population in each ward within 2 percent while still meeting the contiguous and compact requirements,” said Assistant City Manager Kenton Tsoodle. “It was important to us to keep neighborhoods together and we were largely successful in doing that.”

Public Input considered

Residents were invited to learn more about the redistricting process, ask questions and provide input by submitting comments through an online form, attending a virtual town hall meeting on Jan. 24, meeting one-on-one with staff on Jan. 27 and by emailing questions or comments to public.information@okc.gov.

What is redistricting?

In Oklahoma City, City Council wards must be redrawn every ten years following the U.S. Census, so each district is balanced in population. Redistricting determines which neighborhoods are grouped into wards. Each ward is represented by an elected Councilperson that serves a four-year term. Redistricting is important because it ensures each city council member represents about the same number of constituents.

Oklahoma City is nonpartisan and operates under a Council-Manager form of government.