Okanogan Countylections and auditor staff on Aug. 6 presented a multi-month reprecincting project that would reduce the countyount of precincts with splits and adopt a new naming and numbering convention to simplify ballot production and election administration.
Auditor staff emphasized the project was administrative rather than a redistricting of commissioner or other political boundaries and noted the plan preserves all sitting precinct committee officers (PCOs). The staff recommendation reduces the current 248 precinct fragments to 102 precincts without splits, and adopts a numbering scheme keyed to commissioner district and precinct type to make results and administration clearer.
Pete Palmer, Planning Director, and auditor staff described a volunteer committee of local party representatives, tribal members and staff that reviewed draft maps by school-district and commissioner-district layers to avoid splitting school districts where reasonable and to keep precincts within the statutory size band where possible. The project also requires GIS work and a mass notice and new voter card mailing if commissioners approve the change.
Commissioners and staff discussed a timetable: the plan would not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2026, to allow a full calendar year of consistent precinct boundaries for data and administration. Staff will present a resolution for formal commission approval and then coordinate GIS shapefiles, voter-notification mailings and state filings once approved.
Ending: Commissioners requested the reprecincting resolution be scheduled for a future meeting when the full board is present; staff will prepare the formal resolution, GIS files and a voter-notification plan for the board to review.