Board seeks explanations for pooled precincts before asking legislature to permit pooling

The board discussed a draft report for the legislative delegation that would explain why some precincts are pooled (multiple precincts voting at a single location) and identified dozens of pooled precincts across the county. Matt Sweeney said he prepared the draft and will present it to the delegation; he asked staff and board members to provide comments on why specific precincts are pooled so the delegation can understand local constraints.

Board members stressed caution about changing polling locations close to an election. "We're not gonna really have time to make any more adjustments to polling locations unless we're gonna really be confusing voters at the last minute," Director Marie said. Members agreed to gather precinct-level comments and to hold off any operational changes that would confuse voters before Nov. 5. The board recorded counts of 53 single-precinct locations, 24 two-precinct locations, five three-precinct locations and two five-precinct locations and discussed options to present the "as-is" situation to legislators seeking to allow pooled precincts by statute.

Board members also noted growth in Bluffton and constraints on finding suitable polling locations in newer developments; they discussed outreach to homeowner associations and community groups to identify polling spaces and requested a one-week turnaround from staff to return comments on the draft report.