The Augusta County Redistricting Committee has proposed amendments and additions to the County’s voting precincts for public review and consideration.
The county is still in the process of working with stakeholders to determine changes to polling places, and will release more information as the proposed locations continue to develop.
There are numerous state and federal requirements that must be adhered to when determining voting precincts and polling places. For polling places, the location must be in a public building whenever practicable, ADA accessible both within the building and in the parking lot, and located either within the voting precinct or within a mile of the boundary of a voting precinct.
Voting precincts must be compact and contiguous, greater than 500 registered voters but less than 5,000 registered voters, and must not be drawn to discriminate on the basis of race. In addition, state law does not permit voting precincts that are split between any congressional, state, or local election districts. The proposed voting precincts were drawn with these mandates at the forefront.
A general summary of proposed changes to voting precincts is as follows. For additional information and to explore areas of interest in more detail, please visit the County’s redistricting website at www.co.augusta.va.us/government/county-projects/redistricting
- The Churchville Fire and Churchville Elementary voting precincts are proposed to be consolidated in a singular voting precinct with a polling place at Churchville Elementary School.
- The existing Ridgeview precinct is proposed to be split in half along Wayne Avenue. The precinct south of Wayne Avenue will remain the Ridgeview precinct and continue to vote at Ridgeview Christian School. The precinct north of Wayne Avenue and south of Augusta Farms Road will be a new precinct; it will be given an official name by the Board of Supervisors at a later date and has a proposed polling place at Stuarts Draft Elementary School.
- Two new precincts are proposed to be created in the Wayne magisterial district. The first new precinct is the area defined by Interstate 64, Stuarts Draft Highway, Kindig Road, Augusta Farms Road, and Tinkling Spring Road. The second new precinct is the area defined by Interstate 64, Tinkling Spring Road, Mule Academy Road, Jefferson Highway, and the Waynesboro city limits. Both precincts will be given official names by the Board of Supervisors at a later date. The County is working to determine potential polling places for both proposed precincts.
- The existing Fort Defiance precinct is proposed to be split in half by Fort Defiance Road, with the split continuing to follow Lea Port Road and Mount Pisgah Road. The new precinct will be officially named by the Board of Supervisors at a later date, and also is proposed to include the Verona area west of Route 11 that was formerly in the Beverley Manor magisterial district. Both the existing Fort Defiance precinct and the new precinct are proposed to vote at Clymore Elementary School.
- The Wilson voting precinct is now entirely in the Beverley Manor Magisterial District and is proposed to include all of the area between Interstate 64, the Staunton city limits, Christians Creek, and Hermitage Road.
- The Fishersville voting precinct is proposed to expand to include the area between Long Meadow Road, Barrenridge Road, and St. James Road. The proposed polling place is Wilson Elementary School; the current polling place is Preston Yancey Fire Station.
The Electoral Board has the primary responsibility for determining polling places and can be reached via email at [email protected]. The Board of Supervisors has the authority to determine voting precincts and can be reached via email at [email protected].
Comments can also be submitted via a survey at arcg.is/Paauq, phone call 540-245-5700, or email [email protected]. A tentative public hearing before the Board of Supervisors is scheduled for February.
Share
Contributors
