MINERAL COUNTY- After receiving several requests from constituents on how county commissioner districts are formed, Mineral County Commissioner Scott Lamb decided to break down the basics and explain the process by which the seated Board of County Commissioners determine district boundaries and when they create the district maps.

Every 10 years, after the 10-year census is completed and population numbers for a county have been closely determined, the seated county officials will divide up population within the county in order to create three districts. The district map that is currently being used was created by a previous board in 2011 but will be reviewed and changed if needed next year.

On the district map, there are small red numbers which indicate population within that specific area, and it is the job of the commissioners to split the population of the county as equally as possible into three districts. It is the goal of the board to have a difference of less than 10 percent in each district after the population numbers have been divided.

Most commissioners run for office in the districts where they reside in order to represent their friends and neighbors who have specific needs and wants. It is the job of the commissioner to represent their district’s needs as they serve in office. The next board, which will be seated after the November election, will have the task of reviewing the current district map once results from the 2020 census have been compiled.

With demographics constantly changing, and the county currently growing in size and population, the district boundary lines move slightly with population changes. When those changes are made, it is done in a way that commissioners keep their respective districts.

This year, there are four candidates running for two county commissioner seats. For District two, Republican candidate Jesse Albright is seeking re-election for his second term and is running against Democratic candidate John Lawley.

For District three, Republican Candidate Ramona Weber is running for re-election for her third term in office against Unaffiliated Candidate Dennis Frank Powell. The two seats that are up for election this year rotate with the third seat which is not up for election until 2022. There are no other county offices up for election during the presidential election years.