HOW DOES THIS CHANGE THE STRUCTURE OF COLUMBUS CITY COUNCIL?
The Districting system will add two additional seats to the structure of Council, for a total of nine Council seats. The new structure requires members to live within a district to serve on City Council. Similar to the prior system, the members will still represent the entire City and will be voted on by all residents.
WHEN DO THE NEW DISTRICTS TAKE EFFECT?
The General Election in November will be the first time the structure will be in effect. Members will be seated beginning January 2024.
HOW LONG WILL COUNCILMEMBER TERMS BE UNDER THE CHARTER CHANGES?
At the first Council session in 2024, all of the members elected in the 2023 general election will draw lots to determine which four members initially serve a two-year term and which five members serve a four-year term in order. This will result in the staggering of terms leading to a reset for 2024.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE RELEVANT CHARTER PROVISIONS REGARDING THE COMMISSION?
Ordinance 0650-2018, which placed the districting issue on the 2018 primary election ballot for voter approval, was approved by Columbus City Council on March 5th, 2018. That ordinance includes a ballot summary and the specific Charter amendments that introduced Council districts. The Charter provisions governing the structure of Columbus City Council can be found here.
WHY ISN’T MY HOME INCLUDED IN ANY DISTRICT ON THE CURRENT MAP?
The Columbus District Map was published in December 2021. If your current address is in the City of Columbus but you do not see it within any district, it is likely because your address was not within the City of Columbus at the time the District Map was published. The City Charter requires the Map to be amended based on annexations and un-annexations periodically. The last review and inclusion of annexations was July 2023.
WHY ARE SOME DISTRICTS LARGER THAN OTHER DISTRICTS?
Geographic areas may differ because the districts are based on population. Some areas are more densely populated than other areas, therefore a district may be geographically larger because the population is not as dense.