The Butler County Board of Elections approved precinct boundary changes Monday in an effort to comply with the state law requirements as well as to make elections more efficient. The precinct boundary changes were made in townships including West Chester, Liberty, St. Clair, Madison, Wayne, and Milford, as well as Trenton and parts of Hamilton. “Our board strives to administer elections as efficiently as possible without sacrificing voter access or experience,” said Director Lynn Kinkaid. “These precinct changes will our voters have the best access ballot while saving the tax payers money.”
The changes reduce the total number of precincts in Butler County by 16 for 299 to 283. The reduction will save over $10,000 per election. The savings are due largely to reduced numbers of precinct workers along with savings in training and printing costs.
“Over the past two years, we have successfully reduced our election costs by over $100,000” added Deputy Director Jocelyn Bucaro. “Our office will continue to seek ways to make our operations more efficient.
Some of the precinct boundary changes were necessary in order to bring into compliance precincts that exceed or nearly exceed the maximum number of voters permissible under law, according to R.C. 3501.18(A). State law requires that precincts not exceed 1,400 voters; Butler County had one precinct that exceeded that number, and three others nearly exceeded the maximum. Those precincts are in West Chester, Liberty Township, and Hamilton.
Other precinct boundaries were changed in order to reduce the number of split precincts, or precincts that contain more than one district. Splits in a precinct make election administration more challenging because precinct election officials must ensure voters in split precincts receive the correct ballot.
“These changes will help us our voters are voting in the correct district and have access to the correct ballot, reducing the risk of human error in administering elections,” Kinkaid noted.
The new precinct boundary maps are available for viewing at the Board of Elections website, www.butlercountyelections.org.
