Birmingham City Council districts
Birmingham City Council districts were drawn in 1989 to accommodate a court order to preserve minority (white) political representation on the Birmingham City Council as the city became majority Black.
Prior to 1913 members of the Birmingham Board of Aldermen were elected by voting ward. From then until 1963 the members of the Birmingham City Commission were elected city-wide. In the first election the four candidates with the most votes won four-year terms, with the rest serving for two years before the next election. Each two years thereafter, five seats would come up for election with the top four vote-getters winning four-year terms and the fifth-place finisher serving for two years before the next election.
As a result of a lawsuit brought by Russell Yarbrough (Yarbrough et al v. City of Birmingham), the court agreed with the plaintiffs that voting by district would protect the right of white voters to be represented. To keep the size of the council the same, nine districts were drawn, using 1980 census data. It has been observed that other consequences of the change have included increased sectional divisions and competition between districts and neighborhoods for city funding.
Council districts were redrawn using updated census data prior to the 1993, 2005, 2013 and 2025 municipal elections.
References
- Michaels, Ryan (February 18, 2022) "Birmingham City Councilor ‘heartbroken’ over proposed re-districting map." The Birmingham Times
- Prickett, Sam (February 22, 2022) "Public Hearing on New Birmingham City Council Districts Set for March 29." BirminghamWatch
- Garrison, Greg (March 28, 2022) "Birmingham hosts hearing on changing City Council district lines." The Birmingham News