§ 5-202. Reapportionment of council districts.


Latest version.
  • (a)

    Subject to the limitations of state and federal law, the council shall reapportion the council districts from which members of the council are elected following publication of the 2000 United States decennial census or any future such census. Such reapportionment of districts shall be effective for the election of members to the council at the next regular general municipal election following the publication of the decennial census.

    (b)

    The council shall reapportion the council districts in accordance with the following specifications:

    (1)

    Each reapportioned district shall be formed of contiguous territory, and the boundary lines of said district shall be the center lines of streets or other well-defined boundaries;

    (2)

    Variation in population between such districts shall comply with the one-person-one-vote requirements of the United States Constitution; and

    (3)

    The reapportionment shall be limited to adjusting the boundary lines of the existing districts only to the extent reasonably necessary to comply with the requirements of paragraph (2) above; and the number of members of the council and the manner of electing such members, except for the adjustment of district boundary lines, shall not be changed by the council.

    (c)

    In addition to the reapportionment following publication of the decennial census, the council shall reapportion districts pursuant to this section if the annexation of additional territory to the corporate boundaries of the City of Atlanta has the effect of denying electors residing within the newly annexed territory the right to vote for the election of members of the council on substantially the same basis that the other electors of the City of Atlanta vote for members of the council. The reapportionment provided for herein shall meet the criteria specified in subsection (b) of this section and shall be further limited to making only those adjustments in district boundary lines as may be reasonably necessary to include the newly annexed territory within such districts. Reapportionment under this subsection shall be effective for the next regular general municipal election following annexation.

(1996 Ga. L. (Act No. 1019), p. 4469)