Alachua County will take its time to consider three new commissioner district maps that rearrange the commission seats and alter the population each district represents.   

Each of the three options presents a significant change from the current pie-shaped model used for decades. Depending on how the districts are numbered, the options also pit incumbents against each other or force incumbents to move residences in order to remain on the board after 2026.   

The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) was scheduled to discuss the maps at its Aug. 12 meeting, but county spokesperson Mark Sexton said an administrative decision postponed the item.   

He said the goal is to give everyone time to digest the report and let the commission focus on the upcoming budget votes leading into the next fiscal year, which begins in October. 

The BOCC hired a consultant to create the three maps and isn’t required to adopt any changes. Sexton said the commission typically updates the districts every 10 years in line with the census, and he said the commission adopted the current districts in 2021. But because of delays with the COVID-19 pandemic, he said the census data came late and the BOCC only had one map to consider.  

Sexton said the commission wanted to review options, but the BOCC could also leave the topic alone after seeing the maps or ask for alternatives. If no one asks to place the district maps on a future agenda, the issue could just fade. 

The administrative decision comes after Commissioner Ken Cornell questioned each of the three maps because of their impact on incumbents and said he expected more from the redistricting proposal. 

Why redraw districts? 

In April 2025, commissioners said the districts need to be evaluated, especially in order to eliminate split precincts. The county has a total of 16 split precincts, where residents vote at the same location but have different ballots with different candidates on the ballots.  

Commissioners said these split precincts can confuse residents and burden the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office. The elections office adopted its precinct map in 2023, and county staff told the commission that redrawn precincts could come again and split newly designed commission districts.    

Cornell said at the time that each district should reflect the demographics of Alachua County. He said even though the county would elect based on at-large districts, making the map the right way would ensure strong districts if the voting method switched back to single-member districts.  

In May, the BOCC gave new, clarifying direction to hire a consultant to create multiple map options that have “examples of different geographies, including districts that include greater breadth of county geography for each district.” 

He said the maps should try to eliminate as many split precincts as possible. In April, he said the county should move away from the neat pie-shaped outline to ensure the demographic proportions—though Commissioner Anna Prizzia said the overall shape might not need much adjusting. 

The question over the new maps comes as the county remains in a legal battle to determine whether future elections will be determined through at-large districts or single-member districts.    

Alachua County voters supported single-member districts in 2022 by 51.5% before pivoting and passing at-large districts in 2024 by 71%. At-large districts allow every voter in the county to vote for each commissioner regardless of their district. Single-member districts only allow voters within each county district to cast ballots for their district’s commissioner.    

In July, the First District Court of Appeals held oral arguments between Alachua County and citizens who support single-member districts. There’s no timeline on when the court will make its decision.  

The appeal court ruling may influence redistricting. State law requires all single-member district commissioners to be reelected after adopting new districts.  

County Attorney Sylvia Torres told commissioners in July that commissioners slated to run in 2026 would have to run in the new districts if the maps changed before then.

What do the proposed districts change?  

The map options move away from the current pie shape, where each district has a sliver of Gainesville and a large rural section as well. The new district options, called Gainesville Wrap, Even Quarters and East to West, contain a mix of much larger rural districts with smaller urban districts.  

Dan Smith, a UF professor of political science and president of Election Smith Inc, created the maps and said each eliminates all split precincts and achieves the BOCC’s goals.  

In the report, Smith said each of the maps also improves the current districts when measuring proportionality, competitiveness, compactness and minority representation. 

But the maps fall a little behind the current districts when looking at compactness and population deviation—though he noted the districts remain well within Florida standards. He said the population differences are a direct consequence of eliminating all split precincts.  

“Redistricting always has competing interests,” Smith told Mainstreet.  

The three proposed maps also eliminate split municipalities except for Gainesville. Currently, the city of Newberry is split in half between BOCC District 2 and District 3, while the city of Alachua is mostly within District 2 with a portion in District 5.  

The map options can shuffle district numbers, and the county said the final decision about how the districts are numbered would come closer to any adoption ordinance.

So, saying District 1 when referencing the proposed maps may have no relation to the current district’s boundaries.  

Under the at-large system that’s been in place, the numbers and the district outlines matter little. If the shift to single-member districts remains for future elections, the district outlines will carry more importance. 

Although in the 2024 election, single-member districts didn’t prevent incumbents from returning to office, with Alford and Prizzia both earning victories.

For the Gainesville Wrap option, commissioners would swap district numbers with Cornell and Alford placed into the same district by residence. This map would force Cornell and Alford to either move or oppose each other in an election. The map would also leave District 1, a newly created crescent shape around east Gainesville, without an incumbent until the election. 

For the Even Quarters option, Alford would remain in her current district, and other commissioners would swap district numbers. This map would leave District 3 without an incumbent because Wheeler plans to step down, and Cornell would be placed in a newly drawn District 5, where he could run in 2026 without other incumbent opposition. 

For the East to West option, Chestnut would remain in the same district, and Cornell would join him. This map, like Gainesville Wrap, would force Cornell to move for the 2026 election or potentially campaign against Chestnut in the future. The other commissioners would swap district numbers but two would be left without incumbents

If the districts are renumbered from Smith’s proposal, each commissioner could keep their same district number in the Even Quarters option. But in the other two options, while others would keep their district number, Cornell would still need to campaign against an incumbent because of living in the same district.

All three maps greatly increase the competitiveness of the district seats, moving from a current rating of 19 out of 100 to a rating of 51, 48 and 43 with the new maps. Each of the new maps creates two toss-up districts between Republican Party and Democratic Party voters, along with three solidly blue districts. 

Of the current commission districts, only District 2 has a slight Republican lean, with the other districts solidly Democratic, but with at-large voting, that district has remained blue over the years.  

• In the Gainesville Wrap option, three districts would remain solidly Democratic, while two other districts have slight Republican leans (50.5% and 51.5% estimates).  

• In the Even Quarters option, three districts again remain solidly Democratic while two have a Republican lean (51% and 51.5%).  

• In the East to West option, three districts remain solidly Democratic with one Republican leaning (53%) and one a true split at 50%.  

Alachua County currently has 173,522 registered voters, with 44% registered with the Democratic Party and 28% registered with the Republican Party. The remaining voters are not associated with a party or with a third-party alternative. 

What problems could incumbents face? 

Cornell highlighted that all three maps in Smith’s report involve incumbent commissioners switching districts and even forcing incumbents to campaign against each other or move.   

For Cornell, two of the three maps force him to move his primary residence or face an incumbent in order to stay on the dais past the 2026 election. The third map (Even Quarters) would move him into District 5 but let him campaign where he currently resides.   

Cornell is currently the odd man out on the dais. Commissioners Anna Prizzia, Mary Alford and Chuck Chestnut were elected by voters in 2024, potentially securing their seats until 2028 unless their district gets changed.   

The seats for Cornell and Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler are on the ballot in 2026, but Wheeler has already announced that she will not be running. That leaves Cornell as the only incumbent running in 2026. If a new map places him in a district with Prizzia, Alford or Chestnut, then Cornell may need to move and run in a different district to remain on the dais.   

Cornell has been on the BOCC since winning in the 2014 election and has served in District 4, though with at-large districts most of the time.   

In July, Cornell said he had “serious issues” over the maps and asked if the consultant considered the impact on incumbents. County Attorney Sylvia Torres said districts are not typically drawn to consider or protect incumbents, with the county manager noting that this happens at times when the state redraws congressional districts.   

State law gives guidelines when redrawing the districts.  

“Districts may not be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a candidate for county commission, or an incumbent county commissioner based on the candidate’s or incumbent’s residential address.”    

Cornell asked staff to discuss the issue with Smith ahead of the August meeting—this direction came before the administrative decision to postpone the item. 

What happens now? 

In April 2025, Prizzia said the commission needs to move quickly on the maps. Until a potential new district layout is confirmed, candidates remain on unsure footing—not knowing if their district will have an incumbent or not.  

The BOCC has a deadline of early February to confirm its map because state law prevents changes to the districts within 270 days of an election.  

Cornell said he’s not interested in pursuing any of the map options, leaving further action to another commissioner or staff pushing the item forward. 

Two new candidates, Byran Williams and Robert Woody, have already signed up to run in the 2026 election for District 2, occupied by Wheeler.  

Alachua County allows commissioners to campaign for a district seat even if they live outside that district. However, if elected by voters, the commissioner must move to that district by the time they take the oath of office.  

This procedure caused issues when Alford was elected to District 1 and lived outside her district for over a year before stepping down. She was subsequently reelected in 2022.