Lane County to consider redistricting overhaul amidst concerns from county elections office

Lane County commissioners could decide Tuesday whether to move forward with a controversial set of charter amendments.

The proposal comes amid concerns from the county’s elections department.

Under Lane County’s current charter and policies, an independent committee of volunteers appointed by commissioners draws the lines. The commissioners then pick from among a few maps their group of volunteers recommend.

The two proposals under consideration – put forward by local lawyer Stan Long – would overhaul that process.

Only people who have been registered to vote for three years with no recent history of campaigning or lobbying could participate in the redistricting committee. Long’s proposal also appears to empower the committee - not the county commissioners - to select the final maps.

The second part of the proposal has drawn the most criticism. It would enshrine specific district landmarks into the charter limiting the flexibility of any future map makers. It would also call for new redistricting maps next year.

In a recently released memo, Lane County Clerk Dena Dawson said drawing new maps five years early would place a serious burden on her office.

According to the memo, the elections office is already scheduled to roll out a new election management and voter registration system next year. It’s also planning for the potential impacts of Ranked Choice Voting on top of the normal work they already do.

Ranked Choice Voting will be considered by Oregon voters this fall in the form of Ballot Measure 117. If approved, it would go into effect for primary and general elections for federal and state executive offices beginning in 2028.

Dawson said if the plan moves forward on the current timeline, it would “pose significant risks to the integrity of county elections.”

A legal analysis by the county’s interim attorney, Jeffrey Condit, also pointed out some potential issues. Condit called portions of Long’s proposal unclear and wrote that it may conflict with other parts of the charter, including whether the committee, not commissioners, get the final say on redistricting maps and how the county defines “registered lobbyists.”

Condit said the county, and voters, appear to have the authority to make the changes, but if commissioners don’t clarify the proposal they might run into challenges when trying to implement it.

The proposal does have some strong supporters - with some from smaller cities or the unincorporated areas of Lane County speaking out in favor of it during hearings earlier this summer. They argued the previous redistricting maps were unfair and too Eugene-centric.

The three county commissioners who have shown interest in the proposal, Pat Farr, Ryan Ceniga and David Loveall, have argued an independent committee will reduce politics in the process.

If commissioners sign off on the changes, it would go before Lane County voters on the November ballot.

Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the proposal Tuesday at their 9 a.m. meeting.