Will Jefferson County's population drop affect its congressional districts? Will city ward or school district boundaries change? How will it affect seats on the Quorum Court?
These are just some of the questions that residents are likely seeking answers to as representatives from the offices of Arkansas' secretary of state and attorney general visit the Pine Bluff Convention Center for a public listening session scheduled from 5:30 to 7 p.m. today.
The session, according to a news release from the city of Pine Bluff, "is an effort to educate citizens concerning the impact of the 2020 census data, and the redistricting and redrawing of legislative district boundaries."
Arkansas is undergoing redistricting for the first time in Shirley Washington's tenure as Pine Bluff mayor. It is held every 10 years after the census is updated.
One question on her mind is how the drop in her city's population -- Pine Bluff has lost nearly 8,000 people since 2010 and had 41,253 as of April 1, 2020 -- will affect the number of seats serving Pine Bluff in the state Legislature. Democrats Vivian Flowers and Ken Ferguson represent parts of the city in the state House.
"I read somewhere there was a time when Arkansas had seven congressional districts and lost three of them because of population," Washington said. Online history shows Arkansas last had seven seats in the U.S. Congress in 1953.
Two of Arkansas' four congressmen serve parts of Jefferson County. The First District, represented by Republican Rick Crawford, covers the extreme northeast corner and southeast tail of the county. The remainder of Jefferson County is part of the Fourth District, served by Bruce Westerman.
"There's possibly a shift with the 2020 census because of some movement in population," Washington said. "We don't know what will happen in our city."
School board lines will have to be redrawn, Washington said. She suggested the lines could change in the Pine Bluff School District, which recently underwent annexation of the Dollarway School District.
"Right now, the Pine Bluff School District doesn't have a board, but when a board is reestablished, the lines will have to be established," she said.