Supervisors approve advertising to consolidate Wolftown and Graves Mill precincts, set Rose Park United Methodist Church as proposed polling place

The Madison County Board of Supervisors voted to advertise a package of actions to change local polling places and consolidate two precincts ahead of upcoming elections.

Jim Smith, chair of the Madison County Electoral Board, and Lauren Eanes, the county’s general registrar, presented options after the Wolftown precinct’s prior polling location became unavailable. Smith said the registrar must notify affected voters and that ordinance deadlines under Virginia law require ample lead time: "The ordinance has to be in place 30 days after it was passed," he told the board, noting the need to issue mail notices well before the start of early voting.

The electoral board recommended Rose Park United Methodist Church as the new polling location for Wolftown; staff reported the building is ADA-compliant and close to the former site. County staff said the change would require notices to roughly 1,100 registered Wolftown voters; Graves Mill currently serves about 901 registered voters.

Supervisors approved three related motions by voice vote: to advertise a proposed change designating Rose Park United Methodist Church as the polling place for the Wolftown/Graves Mill consolidation; to advertise consolidation of Wolftown and Graves Mill with the consolidated precinct to be referred to as "Graves Mill/Wolftown" for public notice; and to direct the county attorney to draft an ordinance to codify precinct locations in section 2.2 of the county code and to prepare the public advertisement and timeline for the hearing. The public hearing was scheduled for April (advertising period February 18 through April 8 was presented by staff).

Board members discussed naming and historical concerns; one supervisor suggested consulting the Madison County Historical Society and possibly installing a plaque at the former site to recognize Graves Mill’s history. County staff said Rose Park had given verbal agreement and that a formal lease would be prepared and brought to the board; staff cautioned the United Methodist conference may need to approve a formal church-level lease.

Eanes and Smith also briefed the board on county voting patterns: Madison County has approximately 10,800 registered voters, recent general-election turnout reached about 78.9 percent, and early in-person voting at the registrar’s office accounted for about 48.7 percent of votes in the last general election. The electoral board presented consolidation as a potential cost- and workload-savings measure over time given rising early voting.

Next steps: staff will finalize a draft ordinance and advertisement, confirm lease details with Rose Park United Methodist Church, publish required notices, and hold a public hearing in April before the board takes final action.