County’s redistricting maps gets DOJ blessing

The Pinal County Elections Department received notification Monday the U.S. Department of Justice has examined the county’s redistricting submission and does not object to the plan.

The county held a series of public meetings in 2011 to talk about the proposed maps and get input from residents, civic groups and any other individuals with a stake in the outcome. Public comment also was sought through the county’s website.

The DOJ scrutinized the map and the associated statistical analysis to ensure the proposed districts comply with the federal legislation ensuring minorities are fairly represented.

“After all the time and effort that we put into this process by reaching out to the public, I am not surprised that our redistricting maps were so quickly pre-cleared by the U.S. Justice Department,” said Pete Rios, chairman of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors. “I thank our elections department staff for all their hard work.”

“Our mapping choices were not easily arrived at, nor were the decisions simple,” said Dist. 3 Supervisor David Snider. “We were careful and deliberate as we worked through the issues of competitiveness, compactness, communities of interest and retrogression. However, in the end I thought we made the best possible choice and it is gratifying to have the Department of Justice concur.”