KSWO: Congressional redistricting meeting to be held at Lawton City Hall

By Tiffany Bechtel

Published: May. 25, 2021 at 4:33 PM UTC

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - The Oklahoma House of Representatives and the State Senate redistricting offices will be holding a series of town hall meetings concerning the congressional redistricting process.

There will be an in-person town hall meeting held in Lawton on July 29 at Lawton City Hall, beginning at 6 p.m.

Legislators and redistricting office staff will be in attendance to answer questions and take comments from local community members.

There will also be two virtual meetings for those who aren’t able to attend the in-person meeting. One will take place on July 13 and the second on August 3, both at 6 p.m.

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The virtual meetings can be accessed on the Oklahoma House of Representatives redistricting website.

There is no sign-up for either type of meeting and officials say everyone is welcomed to attend.

By law legislative and congressional district boundaries must be redrawn every ten years to reflect changes in population.

Rep. Ryan Martinez from Edmond explains that the town hall meetings are important because they give communities a chance to voice their opinions as redistricting affects who will represent Oklahoma residents at a congressional level.

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“It’s important that we have public comment in the redistricting process,” said Martinez, the chair of the House Redistricting Committee. “This affects who will represent individual Oklahomans at the congressional level over the next decade. It’s important for the public’s voice be heard and that they have the opportunity to any question answered.”

You can also email comments to the House at redistrictoklahoma2020@okhouse.gov, Senate at redistricting@oksenate.gov, or contact your state representative or state senator.

Organizers say all comments and public testimony will be shared with the redistricting committees.