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DeSoto Parish jury approves reassignment of polling sites, votes to split Precinct 28
Summary
After debate over travel distances and use of private facilities, the DeSoto Parish Police Jury authorized a resolution to reassign polling locations — moving Precinct 37 to the David Beane(s) building and splitting Precinct 28 so a southwest portion will vote at Longstreet — and directed the president to sign the resolution.
Clerk Lisa Burisma told the DeSoto Parish Police Jury on June 2 that a previously used private polling site had withdrawn and the parish must designate new polling locations in time for upcoming ballots. "We don't have that by July 9 and we have something on the ballot, then we get into an emergency ... situation," Burisma said, urging action to avoid an emergency designation.
Burisma presented distance calculations for the consolidated precinct and for alternatives that would split the southwest portion of Precinct 28. She said moving the southwest portion to Longstreet would reduce the farthest travel distance for affected voters from about "16.4 miles" to roughly "10.1 miles." That change, she said, would require an alternate motion to split the precinct and designate Longstreet Town Hall as the polling place for the transferred portion.
Jurors debated whether the revised park-funding item earlier in the meeting made this a change of scope and whether the precinct map in hand reflected the most current boundaries. Several jurors expressed concern about making some voters drive farther if the split were not adopted. "I tend to agree with Miss Burisma — 16 miles is a bit far," one juror said in favor of the split.
After discussion, a juror moved to authorize the president to sign a resolution reassigning the polling location for Precinct 37 to the David Beane(s) building and to split Precinct 28 so part of its voters will vote at Longstreet Town Hall, as recommended by staff and consultant Mike Heffner. The motion carried.
What happens next: The jury authorized the president to execute the necessary resolution; staff said the alternate motion to split Precinct 28 will be drafted and returned (or placed on the committee agenda) so precinct lines and voter lists can be finalized before the statutory deadline for polling-location changes.
Sources and attribution: Details and figures above are taken from the clerk’s presentation and subsequent juror discussion during the meeting (Clerk Lisa Burisma; consultant Mike Heffner as referenced).
