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Board dissolves Leaksville 2 precinct, shifts voters to Eden 1 and Matrimony precincts
Summary
The Rockingham County Board of Elections approved a proposal to dissolve the Leaksville 2 precinct and reassign its voters to adjacent Eden 1 and Matrimony precincts to ensure municipal election readiness and address a lost polling site.
The Rockingham County Board of Elections voted to dissolve the Leaksville 2 precinct and reassign its registered voters into adjacent Eden 1 and Matrimony precincts to ensure polling capacity for upcoming municipal elections.
Board members said the change was prompted after the longtime polling place in Leaksville 2 (Leakesville Christian Church) notified officials it would close, and the elections office could not find an alternative location inside the existing precinct boundary. The board accepted a staff recommendation to split voters along local roads (Roberts Road and Eden Road) so that voters west of that line would go to Matrimony and those east would go to Eden 1.
The change follows outreach by elections staff, who said they could not locate a suitable site inside Leaksville 2 and that many addresses in the western portion of the precinct use Stoneville mailing addresses even though the precinct map placed them with Eden. Paula Seamster, director of the Rockingham County Board of Elections, told the board there are 3,454 registered voters in Leaksville 2; roughly 887 voters would move to Matrimony and about 2,567 would move to Eden 1 under the proposed split. Eden 1 would grow to about 6,853 registered voters and Matrimony to about 5,085 in the planner's scenarios.
Board members and staff discussed parking and facility capacity at Matrimony and Eden 1, with concerns raised that some polling places across the county have limited parking. Steered by staff, the board approved the precinct-dissolution plan with the understanding that staff will continue searching for alternate facilities and may rename the affected precincts if needed. The director said any final facility arrangements and new precinct names would return to the board for confirmation and that the change must be processed before municipal-election deadlines so the municipalities and state receive required notices.
The board took the action by voice vote. A director's presentation and maps showing current precinct dots and proposed reassignments accompanied the discussion.
The board chair said the change must be completed now because municipal budget processes and state-notification deadlines require final decisions well before the election.
The board accepted the change proposed by staff and directed continued work on site logistics and any necessary renaming of precincts.
Votes at a glance: the board approved the director's recommendation to dissolve Leaksville 2 and move those voters into the Matrimony and Eden 1 precincts; the vote was taken by voice and the board chair announced the proposal accepted by the board.
