HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-18-26 Public Comment - Gallatin Valley Sentinel - Comments on the 6_18 Draft - ElectionsFrom:The Gallatin Valley Sentinel
To:Bozeman Goverment Study Commission
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Comments on the 6/18 Draft - Elections
Date:Thursday, June 18, 2026 11:29:58 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you
recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
To the Bozeman Study Commission:
Please see the following comments regarding Article VII in the draft charter (Elections):
Ward boundaries should be drawn following a model similar to what Montana uses.Please reference this site for more details: https://mtredistricting.gov/about/.
Ward boundaries should be drawn by an independent advisory board, not by the citycommissioners. This creates the least risk for gerrymandering.
In Section 7.01(a), simplify the first sentence to say that "Regular city elections shall beheld and administered pursuant to state law." This allows the charter to be flexible if
local election years should ever change.The city commission should not be allowed to change ward boundaries "at any other
time as determined by the city commission." First, this should be the role of anindependent advisory board, not the city commission, and second, there should only be
very specific reasons why ward boundaries should change.
We will repeat our prior recommended language: "Each ward
shall be compact, contiguous, and structured so that the population disparity
between wards does not exceed ten percent (10%) at the time of any boundary
determination. To the maximum extent feasible, boundaries of each ward shall
be compact, contiguous, as nearly equal in population as practicable, and shall
preserve existing Neighborhood Association boundaries to the maximum extent
feasible. No ward shall be drawn for thepurpose of favoring or discriminating against any political party of incumbent
o<iceholder; provided, however, that no boundary alteration shall exclude an
incumbent commissioner from their ward prior to the expiration of that
incumbent’s current term."
You do not currently have a provision for changing ward boundaries when the
population disparity exceeds a certain amount.
Please refer to our previously-submitted comment for the full recommended
language surrounding wards and elections, as there are other sections of the
charter that are impacted by wards than what you have
proposed: https://weblink.bozeman.net/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=318394&dbid=0&repo=BOZEMAN.
Thank you,Katie AdamsThe Gallatin Valley Sentinel