Adams County
Adams County did not redistrict after the 2010 census. The population deviation is 22%, which is more than twice the allowable limit. In addition, the districts are not compact with small non-contiguous pieces. Thus, the Adams County Council disticts are illegally drawn.
- Overview
- Map
- Data
County Redistricting Overview
State law and state and federal court decisions require that local government districts be compact, contiguous, not cross precinct boundaries, and be as nearly equal in population as possible (usually with population deviation of less than 10%). To be in compliance, answers to each of the questions below should be "Yes".
Note: Other requirements regarding vote dilution and minority representation are not examined in this report.
Were the districts based on the 2000 census in compliance with state law? | Unknown | |
Did the county redistrict after the 2010 census? | No | |
Is the population deviation of the current districts less than 10%? | No. The population deviation is 22%, more than twice the allowable limit | |
Are the current districts compact and contiguous? | No. The delightful looking hieroglyphic that forms all of District 2 in the northern part of the county corresponds exactly to the contours of the city of Decatur, IN, which has chunks of non-city areas inside it--including one tiny parcel that appears to be a single home. The same is true in the southern part of the county where the southern end of District 3 follows the contours of Berne, IN, with one tiny chunk missing and another part attached only by a road and a bit of land. But the indentation is caused by a body of water. | |
Is every precinct wholly contained within a single district? | Yes | |
2010 Census Data
In 2012, we were able to determine exact populations for each county council district by identifying which precincts (as drawn in 2011 by each county) were in which county council district. We were able to calculate precinct populations using the 2010 census as long as precincts contained whole census blocks, which they are supposed to do.
District 1 | 9,249 | | | District 2 | 9,410 | | | District 3 | 7,544 | | | District 4 | 8,184 |
Prarie 01 |
Honey Creek 01 |
Union 03 |
Cass 01 |
|||||||
Total Population | 34,387 | |||||||||
Average District Population | 8,597 | |||||||||
Population Deviation | 22% |
Population deviation is calculated by subtracting the smallest district from the largest district and dividing by the average district population. The maximum allowable deviation for local governments is 10%.
Read more...