JACKSON, Wyo. — Next week the Teton County Clerk’s Office will hold an open house to discuss the redistricting process for Teton County.
The event, which is open to the public, will also focus on what it means for representation in the state legislature following the results of the 2020 U.S. Census.
The open house is scheduled for Oct. 13, 2021, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Teton County Commissioners Chambers located in the Teton County Administration Building at 200 South Willow Street in Jackson. The meeting will also be streamed via Zoom at this link.
Teton County Clerk Maureen Murphy and Wyoming Representatives Mike Yin and Jim Roscoe will be available to explain the process, provide maps, answer questions, and receive feedback. Representative Roscoe sits on the Wyoming Legislature Joint Corporations, Elections, and Political Subdivisions Committee overseeing the redistricting process.
“We’d love to hear from the public about some initial proposals for redistricting in Teton County and our surrounding region,” said Murphy. “This only happens once every 10 years, so it is important that we take the time now to draw lines that make the most sense for representation in our community.”
Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn based on the results of the U.S. Census, which is conducted every 10 years. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Wyoming’s population grew from 563,626 in 2010 to 576,851. Teton County’s population increased by 9.6% from 21,294 to 23,331.
“Based on how the population has shifted throughout the state over the past 10 years, we need to reshape district boundaries in a way that fairly distributes legislative representation throughout the state based on where the population has grown or shrunk,” said Murphy.
The Joint Corporations, Elections, and Political Subdivisions Committee has grouped Wyoming’s 23 counties into 10 regions, which will work together to establish redistricting lines for the Joint Legislative Committee. Teton County is grouped with Lincoln, Sublette, and Uinta counties, representing Region 10.
The Committee will meet in November and December to conduct redistricting analysis before finalizing recommendations to the Wyoming Legislature for the 2022 Budget Session, which will convene on Monday, Feb. 14, 2021.
For more information on the redistricting process, click here, or to review GIS maps of Teton County, please visit the Teton County website.
