News
Washington County To Reduce Voting Locations
By: WOUB Staff Writer
Posted on:
MARIETTA — The Washington County Board of Elections is reducing voting locations in the county by 14 to help reduce the cost of new voting equipment.
The board met on Wednesday, and approved the reduction of voting facilities from 27 to 13, according to Peggy Byers, deputy director of the board. The change will take place starting with the November 6 midterm election.
“We will be buying new voting equipment in the near future so this will help us to buy fewer machines,” Byers said in an email to media.
The 13 locations are Belpre Church of Christ, Beverly Volunteer Fire Department, First Church of the Nazarene, Knights of Columbus Hall, Lighthouse Baptist Church, the Marietta Township Recreation Center, New Matamoras Public Library, Newport United Methodist Church, Pinehurst Christian Church, Porterfield Baptist Church, Dalzell Community Building, Washington County Junior Fair building and the Watertown Volunteer Fire Department.
Postcards will be sent to voters affected by the changes, the release from Byers stated.
Along with the expected cost savings and reduction of delivery trucks needed, Byers wrote that pollworkers had complained about the cleanliness of some locations. She hopes with less locations, pollworkers will be more willing to volunteer.
“There has been more difficulty in recent elections in finding poll workers who live in the most remote parts of the county,” Byers wrote. “We had to urge poll workers to drive to these precincts to fill the jobs.”