The City is seeking a service provider to assist with its decennial redistricting process. The City envisions that the service provider will provide legal, demography, and GIS (Geographic Information System) services. It is expected that more than one firm may work together jointly on a single Proposal. It is strongly preferred that the lead company or prime contractor for any Proposal be a law firm with attorneys licensed to practice in the state of North Carolina. While the City is flexible with respect to certain elements of the Project, the City has specific requirements and preferences for the Services.
Charlotte has a council-manager form of government with a mayor and 11 council members elected every two years in November. The mayor and four council members are elected at-large by a city-wide vote. Seven council members are elected from districts by voters who reside in each district. Elections typically occur in odd-numbered years (e.g., 2017, 2019), and the City was due to have Council elections in November of 2021.
The City generally engages in the redistricting process for the seven districts after the release of the decennial census conducted by the U.S. government. However, the census data for 2020 has been delayed, making the redistricting process impracticable. As a result, the state legislature enacted legislation, S.L. 2021-56, to delay the regular November 2021 elections until April 2022. The 2020 Census data is expected to be provided by the U.S. Census Bureau in September 2021. Per S.L. 2021-56, the City is required to complete redistricting by November 12, 2021, and if this date cannot be met, then by December 17, 2021. Candidates must file for elections shortly after the redistricting is complete, with primary elections scheduled for March 8, 2022.