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More Luzerne County voting districts may be added in the November general election due to growth in some areas, including Mountain Top and the Back Mountain, according to county Election Director Marisa Crispell.
The county has 180 election districts in the county’s 76 municipalities, with each requiring a separate board and at least one clerk and machine operator. Some districts share polling locations, with a total 156 buildings used for voting countywide.
Nine districts were eliminated in 2015 due to shrinking registration and turnout, which reduced costs, Crispell said.
However, no districts were added at that time. Crispell said she later received complaints about long lines and waits in the November 2016 presidential election at some locations and wants to address the matter before the 2020 presidential races. The addition of districts also would impact the number of paper-trail voting machines that must be purchased to comply with a state mandate, she said.
Further consolidation in a few locations also is under review, she said.
If the cuts and additions materialize as she envisions, the net effect would be an increase to 186 election districts, she said.
Possibilities under review include:
• Dallas Township, adding two districts for a new total of five;
• Kingston Township, adding one for a new total of four districts;
• Fairview Township, increasing from one to three districts;
• Wright Township, adding one district to bring the total count to three;
• Newport Township, decreasing from three to two districts.
Districts also may be combined in Freeland and Luzerne boroughs. Shifting of district boundaries is possible in other municipalities with more than one district to even out voter counts in each, Crispell said.
In the last consolidation, districts were eliminated in Plymouth borough and township, Exeter, Hanover Township, Larksville, Edwardsville, Pittston and West Hazleton, Crispell said.
State law discourages consolidations if a district will have more than 1,200 registered voters, Crispell said. However, courts have allowed districts with up to 1,500 registered voters if turnout records show a pattern of fewer voters showing up over time, she said.
Options for cutting are limited by state law because every municipality, no matter how small, must have its own polling place, Crispell said.
Jeddo borough has around 70 registered voters, while the counts are 147 in New Columbus borough, 237 in Bear Creek Village and 283 in Penn Lake Park borough, county statistics show.
Three districts have registered voter counts over 3,000, the statistics show: Fairview Township, 3,455; District 3 in Kingston Township, 3,274; and Sugarloaf Township, 3,046.
An additional district also is under consideration in Sugarloaf Township, Crispell said.
Crispell is in the process of visiting impacted municipalities to determine if existing or prospective polling places are available to accommodate changes, including requirements for ample parking and accessibility to the disabled.
Proposed changes cleared by the county administration and election board must also be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of State and county Court of Common Pleas, Crispell said.
Copies of current and proposed maps and legal descriptions also must be publicly posted to ensure voters with concerns have ample notice of their right to appear at the court hearing to present objections, she said.
Crispell wants to seek court approval by August so changes can be implemented by the November general. New identification cards must be issued to impacted voters.
Both historic turnout and registration will be assessed in each district as part of the decision, Crispell said.
As of May, the county had 207,915 registered voters.
The total registration was 205,332 in the last presidential general election in 2016, when a total 137,549 ballots were cast.
In November 2012, the county had 194,137 registered voters, and 126,326 ballots were cast, records show. More ballots — 138,076 — were cast in 2008, when the county had 187,844 registered voters.