12-11-2001 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

e e Prepared by: iltJartha A. Gillett, City Secretary "' POLLING LOCATION REPORT ') i' t > / / INTRODUCTION '/ < J The City of La Porte currently has seven (7) polling locations throughout the City. Citizens vote in their district for City Elections. The City Secretary has been approached on numerous occasions by citizens, council members and most recently by members of the redistricting committee about limiting the number of polling locations to simplify the voting process and eliminate confusion. Outlined in this report is an analysis of the research and the costs associated with polling locations. RESEARCH ANALYSIS, CURRENT PRACTICES AND CONCERNS In researching this matter, several phone calls were made to other Cities. It was determined other City's have been faced with similar problems. An example of three cities making polling location changes is the City of Baytown, Friendswood and Deer Park. Baytown reduced its number of polling locations from over twenty-five to thirteen. The City of Friendswood reduced its number of polling locations from six to two. The City of Deer Park reduced its number from eight to four. Baytown and Friendswood indicated it improved the election process and the only disadvantage was the voter might be required to stand in line during busy periods. The City of Deer Park has not held an election since reducing its number. City Secretary Martha Gillett has managed elections for the City of La Porte, La Porte Independent School District and San Jacinto College District since 1997. During all elections, citizens have experienced the same problems regarding confusion on where citizens are required to vote. The confusion arises due to the City districts having different boundaries than Harris County Precincts and County precincts frequently change. When citizens vote in non-city elections, they vote at various locations according to their Harris County Precinct number as indicated on their voter registration card. When citizens vote in City elections, they are required to vote in their City district. Too further add to the confusion, the locations are often different and several Harris County Precincts fall within different City districts (see Exhibit A). As a result, voters become extremely frustrated and sometimes leave the polls without casting a vote. Signs are placed at each polling location prior to and on Election Day. This has been a tremendous help, but if the voter does not know their City district they still are not sure where to vote. The Bayshore Sun also runs articles addressing this problem and encouraging voters to call City Hall if they were not certain where to vote. However, not everyone reads the paper so you still have a large percentage of confused voters. In addition, a flyer has been placed in the water bill. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS After researching this matter, a recommended solution could be to reduce the number of polling locations to one (1), two (2) or three (3). One (1) polling location would totally eliminate any confusion to the voters. Voters would know they always go to the same location to vote. However, this may cause waiting lines and no single location would be convenient to all voters throughout the City of La Porte due to the geographic size. Two (2) locations would reduce the confusion to a minimal level and maintain a more balanced travel distance for the voter. Three (3) locations would be better than seven (7) and may still cause some confusion in the beginning. 22.1