Press release:

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Oklahoma City Council approves new ward map
03/29/2022

Oklahoma City Council approved a new ward map today, which takes effect April 1, 2022. The change is the result of a once-in-a-decade requirement to rebalance the population in OKC’s eight wards due to population growth.

The new ward map is viewable at data.okc.gov.

The ward boundary changes, called redistricting, are a requirement of both federal law and City Charter following the release of the U.S. Decennial Census. According to the 2020 Census, the population in Oklahoma City climbed from 579,999 in 2010 to 681,054 in 2020. Higher rates of growth on the north and west sides (wards 1, 3 and 8) spurred the need to rebalance the population. The target population set for each ward based on the Census data was 85,132.

Oklahoma City was last redistricted in 2011.

Criteria used to redistrict

City Council members passed a resolution on Sept. 28, 2021, approving the following redistricting criteria. Boundaries must:

Be balanced to +/- 2 percent of the average ward population
Be contiguous and as compact as possible
Not unseat current councilmembers
Other recommended criteria include not breaking up established neighborhoods and business districts as well as using highways, major roads and natural borders as ward boundaries.

Public Input considered

Residents were invited to learn more about the redistricting process, ask questions and provide input by submitting comments through an online form, attending a virtual town hall meeting on Jan. 24, meeting one-on-one with staff on Jan. 27 and by emailing questions or comments to public.information@okc.gov. The public hearing was held during the March 15 City Council meeting.

What is redistricting?

In Oklahoma City, City Council wards must be redrawn every ten years following the U.S. Census, so each district is balanced in population. Redistricting determines which neighborhoods are grouped into wards. Each ward is represented by an elected Councilperson that serves a four-year term. Redistricting is important because it ensures each city council member represents about the same number of constituents.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/wardmap032922a.jpg

Yay! I now have James Cooper instead of Barbara Young!

I'm pretty centrally located in Cooper's ward so I am glad to see no change for me.

James Cooper works harder and cares more about his job than any council member I can remember.

I love his passion and how he takes the time to learn about all the details in the avalanche of agenda items that come to the council every two weeks. He's also very engaged at the meetings and asks informed questions.

^^ Very kind words, Pete, and I agree. I will pass along your comments.

way too much surface area. My goodness. Ward 7, 4, and 3 should go on a diet and ward 5 on a mini-diet.

They're population-based, so all the rural areas of OKC are naturally going to make some wards massive.

I think there's a strong argument for more wards so the boundaries don't become so massive in the first place but unfortunately many members of the council, including the Mayor, voted down even doing a serious study on the matter.