The group tasked with redrawing Tulsa City Council districts after the 2020 census will have some work to do.
The 2020 census showed the city gained 21,000 residents since the last count.
"That growth was not evenly distributed around the city. There were some council districts that had more growth. There were some council districts that did not grow as much," said INCOG Executive Director Rich Brierre, who is helping the City of Tulsa Election District Commission with its work.
District 6 in east Tulsa has become the most-populated in the city, with more than 53,500 residents, almost 17% over a population target for council districts. The commission is aiming for districts with just under 45,902 residents.
Brierre said a 10% total deviation is the ceiling, meaning all districts have populations ranging 5% below to 5% above the target.
"What it means is there likely would be some precincts that would be shifted from District 6 to adjacent districts that were lower in population. So, that's something we would be looking at, things like that," Brierre said.
The smallest council district, District 1, is 8.7% below the population target, giving the current council district map a total deviation of more than 25%. Districts 3, 7 and 8 are all within 5% of the population target as currently drawn.
