EDITORIAL/ Consolidation makes sense

Neshoba Democrat   15 June 2005

Neshoba County can successfully consolidate its 38 voting precincts. Two separate plans to reduce the number of voting precincts in each of the five supervisory districts were taken under advisement by the Board of Supervisors last week, mostly in an effort to comply with the federally mandated Help America Vote Act by January 2006.

But consolidation makes sense because it will save the county money.

The county Election Commission made its recommendation in writing, but told the supervisors that the final responsibility for complying with the mandated changes rests with them.

The board had asked the commission to make the recommendations in an effort to lower the costs expected to be associated with HAVA, passed in the fall of 2002 as a result of irregularities in the 2000 presidential election.

Consolidation could be unpopular with some voters because they will have to drive further to vote but the supervisors have no choice.

HAVA requires that, among other things, precincts be handicapped accessible with such things as appropriate ramps, door widths, restrooms and parking, a steep challenge for some of the rural polling places.

The changes also include improving voter education and poll worker training; requiring provisional ballots; and mandating that at least one voting machine be available per polling place which is accessible to voters with disabilities.

The county currently operates 38 precincts in five districts for county, state and federal elections and bringing each into compliance with HAVA would be a huge taxpayer expense, officials have said.

Ruby Breazeale, election commission chairperson, said any precincts with 250 or less registered voters would not qualify for any federal assistance for voting machine purchases.

Commission member Steve Thomas told supervisors earlier that the cost of new voting machines currently being examined by the Office of the Secretary of State could alone cost the county in excess of $250,000.

Another expense which could be trimmed, Thomas said, was the number of poll workers required to man each precinct though the savings would be relational to the number of precincts eliminated.

During last year?s presidential race, 10,629 of the county?s 15,839 registered voters cast ballots.

Currently four workers man each of the 38 precincts, a total of 154, during a general election at a cost of $12,310 and for party primaries the price doubles to $24,620 while runoff elections push the number even higher.

?I like to vote in my community just like everyone else,? Thomas told the Board last week, ?but I don?t think the county can afford 38 precincts.?

Scott County, for example, has 23,500 registered voters polling in 24 precincts, 14 less than Neshoba. Leake County has 10 precincts, Newton 19 and highly populated Madison County 22.

Supervisors are clearly on the right track with consolidation of voting precincts.