COUNTY EYES ELIMINATING SOME POLLING SITES


Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News

03-05-11 - Some Columbia County voters may be heading to new polling sites this year.

The county Board of Elections is studying the potential of consolidating or eliminating voting sites and election districts. The county of approximately 60,000 residents boasts 42 polling sites and 58 election districts.

The goal of the study, said Election Commissioner Virginia Martin, is to eliminate polling sites that are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as to save county taxpayers money.

"We are trying very hard to save the taxpayers’ money and we have to because the costs of elections have gone up so much" as a result of the new optical scanners voting machines the county was forced to use starting last year.

The board has been in contact with some towns already, including the Town of Claverack, which recently learned a polling site at The Grange in Mellenville may be eliminated. The Town Board in general agreed to go along with whatever the final recommendation of the Board of Elections is, though it did state it would like to continue to be informed of the Board of Elections actions.

Savings can be found in reducing the number of election inspectors and custodians the county must employ during election and primary day votes. Additionally, Martin said if the county can reduce the number of polling sites it can cut down on the costs of delivering the machines to each of the 42 voting sites in the county, as well as picking them up.

Finally, the county pays a $150-per-day rent for some of the polling sites that are not municipal buildings – such as the Mellenville Grange Hall or the various church or legion halls used across the county.

“Sometimes, we pay that rent twice a year, other times like next year when we will have a presidential primary, we pay that fee three times in a year, said Martin.

In terms of ADA compliance, Martin said its been a goal of the board for several years to ensure equal access for all voters in the county. Despite its best efforts, not all polling sites are fully ADA compliant, she said.

“We still have had some sites that are marginal and we want to address that this year,” the election commissioner said.

There are already 16 districts in the county that share polling sites, including four districts in Hudson that use a single polling site at the former St. Mary’s Academy building.

In terms of consolidating districts, Martin said that the districts by state law must have less than 1,150 voters. She said there are instances in the county of “some very small districts” that can be merged with other districts.

“In the instance of where we will be able to consolidate districts, we will be able to use fewer inspectors,” she said, meaning more savings for the county.

“Where it makes senses too, we want to do it,” she said.

Martin stressed that the whole process is still “very fluid” and there is no end goal in sight in terms of the optimal number of polling sites or election districts.