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HomeMy WebLinkAbout097-21 (WaiverRequestReSplitPrecinctsNov2021Elections) BOARD OF SUPERVISORS RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY DIRECTOR OF ELECTIONS TO FILE WITH THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS A WAIVER APPLICATION TO ADMINISTER EXISTING SPLIT PRECINCTS FOR THE NOVEMBER 2021 GENERAL ELECTION WHEREAS, Section 24.2-307 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended at the 2020 Session of the General Assembly(Chapter 1268), mandates that"In each year ending in one, the governing body of each county... shall establish the precinct boundaries to be consistent with any congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, and local election district that was adopted by the appropriate authority by June 15 of that year", such that no County election precinct shall be a"split precinct"that contains more than one congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, or local election district; WHEREAS, Section 24.2-307 of the Code of Virginia further provides that"If congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts have not been adopted by the appropriate authority by June 15 of a year ending in one, the governing body may use the congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts as such districts existed on June 15 of that year as the basis for establishing the precinct boundaries to be used for the elections to be held in November of that yea'"; WHEREAS, Section 24.2-307 of the Code of Virginia further provides that"If a governing body is unable to establish a precinct with the minimum number of registered voters without splitting the precinct between two or more congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts, it shall apply to the State Board for a waiver to administer a split precinct' WHEREAS, the County of Frederick, Virginia Director of Elections has advised that the County has the following split precincts: Precinct Name Split Type 104—Cedar Creek Town Boundary—Middletown 502—Newtown Town Boundary—Stephens City WHEREAS, due to significant delays with the release of necessary 2020 United States Census data, the County is unable to initiate, for the November 2021 General Election, the decennial analysis required by the Constitution of Virginia and applicable statutes for adjustments of the boundaries for local election districts and precincts,necessitated by population changes, and which would include reconfiguration of the precinct boundaries as required by Section 24.2-307 of the Code of Virginia; NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED that the Frederick County Board of Supervisors APPROVES application to the State Board of Elections for a waiver to administer the aforementioned split precincts, and hereby DIRECTS the Director of Elections & General Registrar of Frederick County to apply for such waiver. ADOPTED this 9t1' day of June, 2021. Charles S. DeHaven, Jr., Chairman Aye Shawn L. Graber Aye J. Douglas McCarthy Aye Robert W. Wells Aye Blaine P. Dunn Aye David D. Stegmaier Aye Judith McCann-Slaughter Aye Kris . i Clerk, Board of Supervisors County of Frederick, Virginia Res No. 097-21 COUNTY OF FREDERICK 7 Roderick B.Williams County Attorney 540/722-8383 Fax 540/667-0370 E-mail rwillia@fcva.us MEMORANDUM TO: The Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board of Supervisors FROM: Roderick B. Williams, County Attorney DATE: June 4, 2021 RE: Resolution for Authorization to Apply for Waiver to Allow Split Precincts Chapter 1268 of the Acts of the 2020 General Assembly Session enacted certain amendments to Virginia Code § 24.2-307, seeking to eliminate the existence of so-called "Split precincts". A copy of Chapter 1268 is attached. A "split precinct" is a precinct that includes more than congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, or local election district. In such instances, despite voters being in the same precinct, different voters in such a precinct are entitled to vote for offices in different districts from one another, or for different offices. This requires election officials at the same precinct to use two different ballots, depending upon a voter's particular residence location with the precinct, and to ensure that a voter receives the correct ballot. Frederick County has two such"split precincts", the Cedar Creek precinct, which encompasses voters within the Town of Middletown and outside the Town of Middletown, and the Newtown precinct,which encompasses voters within the Town of Stephens City and voters outside the Town of Stephens City. Therefore, some voters in those precincts are entitled to vote for Town offices and some are not. The amended § 24.2-307 requires that, if a locality is unable to establish a precinct with the minimum number of registered voters without splitting the precinct between two or more congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts, it shall apply to the State Board of Elections on annual basis for a waiver to administer a split precinct.* Because of the delays in receiving the 2020 Census data,the County is and will be unable to establish new precinct boundaries for the November 2021 General Election and the Cedar Creek and Newtown precincts will remain"split precincts". Accordingly, a proposed 107 North Kent Street • Winchester, Virginia 22601 resolution authorizing the Director of Elections to apply for the waiver is attached and Board approval of the proposedd resolution is requested. Attachments *Section 24.2-307 separately provides that each precinct in a county shall have no fewer than 100 registered voters. Given that the number of registered voters in each of the two Towns exceeds 100, without a waiver, the County would otherwise have to establish separate precincts for each of the two Towns for this November's election. Once the County does receive the Census data and undertakes the redrawing of precinct lines for future elections, consideration of seeking separate waivers for each fixture Town election or creating separate Town precincts will be necessary. VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY -- 2020 RECONVENED SESSION CHAPTER 1265 An Act to amend and reenact § 24,2.307 of the Code of Virginia, relating to county and city precincts; required to be wholly contained within election districts; waiver for administration of a split precinct. [S 740] Approved April 22,2020 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That §24.2-307 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows: §24.2-307. Requirements for county and city precincts. The governing body of each county and city shall establish by ordinance as many precincts as it deems necessary. Each governing body is authorized to increase or decrease the number of precincts and alter precinct boundaries subject to the requirements of this chapter. At the time any precinct is established, it shall have no more than 5,000 registered voters. The general registrar shall notify the governing body whenever the number of voters who voted in a precinct in an election for President of the United States exceeds 4,000. Within six months of receiving the notice, the governing body shall proceed to revise the precinct boundaries, and any newly established or redrawn precinct shall have no more than 5,000 registered voters. At the time any precinct is established, each precinct in a county shall have no fewer than 100 registered voters and each precinct in a city shall have no fewer than 500 registered voters. Each precinct shall be wholly contained within any a single congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, and election district used for the election of one or more members of the governing body or school board for the county or city. In each year ending in one, the governing body of each county and city shall establish the precinct boundaries to be consistent with any congressional district, Senate district, House of Delegates district, and local election district that was adopted by the appropriate authority by June 15 of that year. If congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts have not been adopted by the appropriate authority by June 15 of a year ending in one, the governing body may use the congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts as such districts existed on June 15 of that year as the basis for establishing the precinct boundaries to be used for the elections to be held in November of that year. Such governing body shall establish precinct boundaries to be consistent with any subsequent changes to the congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts. If a governing body is unable to establish a precinct with the minimum number of registered voters without splitting the precinct between two or more congressional districts, Senate districts, House of Delegates districts, or local election districts, it shall apply to the State Board for a waiver to administer a split precinct. The State Board may grant the waiver or direct the governing body to establish a precinct with fewer than the minimum number of registered voters as permitted by § 24.2-309. A governing body granted a waiver to administer a split precinct or directed to establish a precinct with fewer than the minimum number of registered voters may use such a precinct for any election held that year. The governing body shall establish by ordinance one polling place for each precinct.