NATCHEZ — Population changes could shake things up in the next local election cycle.

The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau numbers for Mississippi should be available Feb. 7, and the data could cause district lines to be redrawn, Senate Elections Committee Chairman Terry Burton said.

New district lines could mean a slightly different electorate for each of the Adams County supervisors.

New lines could also possibly reappoint the supervisors’ residences outside of districts they currently govern.

Mississippi is allowed an early February glance at its numbers for the purpose of redistricting before the March 1 qualifying deadline for fall elections.

President Obama will receive the census bureau data Dec. 31, but the census bureau is not required to distribute 2010 census data nationwide until March 1.

keep the March 1 qualifying deadline for local elections or to extend it to June 1.

Adams County Board of Supervisors President Darryl Grennell said his board will wait it until the census data arrives before deciding I fit wants to push back the qualifying deadline.

If lines are not redrawn, Grennell said the supervisors would likely qualify in March as usual.

District 1 Supervisor Mike Lazarus said Adams County may have fewer residents than in 2000, but he does not predict a large change in population.

Chancery Clerk Tommy O’Beirne said the county will redistrict if the census shows a 10-percent variance from the ideal district size.

The ideal district size is a population number found by dividing the total population by five — the number of districts in Adams County.

In 2000, the ideal district size for the approximately 34,000 population of Adams County was 6,800, O’Beirne said.

O’Beirne said racial demographics also play a role in redistricting. The goal is to allow minority groups to have a representative vote at the board table.

Currently, District 1 and District 2 are mostly white, District 3 and District 4 are mostly black and District 5 is split approximately in half, O’Beirne said.

Burton said some Mississippi counties are planning to seek permission from judges to hold off redistricting until 2015 because of the proximity to the qualifying deadline.

Grennell and Lazarus said they were unaware of the option to hold of the issue until 2015.

The next county election will be Aug. 2, 2011.

City Clerk Donnie Holloway said city wards will redistrict next year based on the census data arriving in February, but redistricting will not affect the board of aldermen until 2012 when the next city election takes place.