Commission decides on voting districts

By Sun Advocate

The Carbon County Commission met last Wednesday to discuss realignment of local voting districts.
Lt. Gov. Olene Walker previously asked Utah’s counties to redistrict voting precincts to accompany census boundaries. The redistricting had to be completed by the end of January.
Carbon County’s districts were ready for realignment anyway, with some precincts approaching the established limit of 1,000 voters. If the number is met or exceeded, the county must split the district and redistribute voters to lower the precinct total.
Although the commission realigned the county’s voting districts, very few changes were made. The largest changes involve only unpopulated areas within the county, therefore few voters will be affected.
Some of the changes that will affect county residents will appear in East Carbon, Kenilworth, Wellington and south Price.
East Carbon was nearing the 1,000 voter limit. Therefore, the commission decided to split East Carbon into north and south districts with in the city. A new voting station will need to be selected, but the announcement will come before elections are conducted.
Kenilworth is now considered part of the Spring Glen district and voters will also be directed to where booths will be housed.
The Wellington district was also nearing the 1,000 voter limit. Therefore, the city was split into south and north districts, with Main Street being the dividing line.
South Price was also split up and a new district labeled Indian Hills was created with Highway 10 serving as the dividing line.
The Utah Senate district is represented by all voting districts in the county. District 27 serves as the Senate seat for Carbon County.
The Utah House seats are now split between districts 67 and 69. The majority of the voting precincts are being represented by district 69.
The areas represented by district 67 include Scofield, east and west Helper, Spring Glen, Car-bonville and Westwood.
The school board was affected minimally by the realignment. The voting numbers remained near the same with the district changes.
Residents will become more aware of the changes approved by the commission as elections draw nearer. Notification to voters will also be made as more information becomes available.