The Burke County Board of Elections voted unanimously to finalize a set of precinct mergers after a public hearing; election officials said the changes affect roughly 2,200 voters out of about 17,000 countywide.
Brandon (elections staff) told commissioners the mergers resulted from a three-year review and that staff would submit the changes to the state the same day. He said the county has already posted notices and will mail information to affected voters and place signs at old polling locations.
Officials reviewed four citizen petitions related to specific polling locations. Brandon reported the petition counts and thresholds under local code: Golf submitted 79 signatures but would have required 88 to meet the 20% threshold; Alexander submitted 28; Monnerlin submitted 1; and Scott’s Crossroads submitted 48 signatures across two petition rounds, but four of those were not registered voters, leaving 44 registered voters on the petition (the 20% threshold for that precinct would have been 52).
Elections staff said the mergers aim to improve polling-place staffing and equipment reliability; they noted that challenge in finding poll workers at small precincts, and said consolidations should help provide backup workers and reduce wear-and-tear on voting equipment.
Maps and other voter-facing materials will be distributed to the affected precincts and posted on the county website.