Changing How We Vote: 1985 Was a 42 Percent Minority City. 2026 That Minority Has Changed To a 62 Percent Majority.

When Rocky Mount moved from at-large elections to ward-based voting in 1985, the city looked very different.

In 1980, Rocky Mount’s total population was 41,283. At that time, Black residents made up just over 42 percent of the population.

The shift to seven single-member wards came in that context, when Black citizens were a large minority and concerns about fair representation under an at-large system were real and pressing.
That was the city then.

Today, Rocky Mount’s population is estimated at 54,541. Black residents now make up approximately 62.6 percent of the population.

Rocky Mount is no longer demographically structured as it was in 1985. That shift matters.

The ward system was adopted in response to the realities of its time. Four decades later, the realities are different. A structure designed to ensure representation for a large minority must be evaluated honestly in a city where that minority is now the majority.

History matters. Context matters. And demographics matter.

The reality of our current ‘troubles’ prompts an honest reconsideration of how we vote. The seven members of the City Council do not make ward-sized decisions. They approve budgets, policies, contracts, and leadership choices that shape Rocky Mount as a whole.

While each member represents a ward, each vote carries consequences for the entire city. The system should reflect the scope of that responsibility.

The structure adopted in 1985 responded to the city we were then. Returning to a city-wide vote today no longer has the same concerns it had then.

Today we need to address small voter turnout that nonetheless elects a councilman with tremendous power over the lives of those beyond their own Wards. As voters, we want a say in the outcome of all who hold this power.