Process to Determine Who Lives in Which House District Complicated, Says Habersham Commission Chair

Habersham County Commission Chair Victor Anderson says the process to determine which voters live in which House District was long and complicated.

The line that divides House Districts 28 and 10 in Habersham County runs from the Rabun County line south through several municipalities, neighborhoods and even properties, according to Anderson.

“You got to understand this boundary between District 28 and District 10 doesn’t follow the county line like in Banks and Stephens Counties,” Anderson explained. “It literally goes through the middle of Habersham County and bisects individuals’ properties. So, in order to find out what the total and accurate number (of voters in each District) was, our elections supervisor and her staff had to sit down with our GIS mapping department and with aerial photos overlayed with the GIS system to determine where the line is.”

Anderson said it got so detailed in some cases that it came down to where the house was located on the property.

“On some properties they had to actually determine where the house is in relation to that line, even though part of the property was in 28 and part in 10. Where the house resides, determines where the voter lives. It was a fairly complicated process,” he said.

Still, Anderson said County officials are committed to making sure voters are in the right district when they go to the polls.

“It is a primary mission of ours to ensure that our voters have a fair, equitable opportunity to cast their votes. And that’s the biggest reason that we went forward in the manner that we did,” Anderson concluded.

In July, Habersham election officials sent out letters to some 365 voters informing them that they had been put in the wrong House district and had been moved to the other district.