Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2013 7:40 PM
Subject: Precinct realignment and its impacts on Bloomingdale
The Board of Elections recently announced that it is realigning the boundaries of voting precincts. I have reviewed the report and offer these observations about how the currently published changes affect Bloomingdale.
5E06: Voters in this single member district at the south end of Bloomingdale (Florida Avenue to Randolph Place and the triangle west of 2nd Street) and represented by Commissioner Teri Janine Quinn will continue to vote at Dunbar High School.
5E06: Voters in this single member district at the south end of Bloomingdale (Florida Avenue to Randolph Place and the triangle west of 2nd Street) and represented by Commissioner Teri Janine Quinn will continue to vote at Dunbar High School.
5E07: Voters in this single member district in the middle of Bloomingdale (Randolph Place to U Street) and represented by Commissioner Wanda Foster will shift polling stations to Mt. Bethel Baptist Church.
5E08: Voters in this single member district in the northern part of Bloomingdale (U Street to Adams Street) and represented by Commissioner Mark Mueller will continue to vote at Mt. Bethel Baptist.
5E09: Voters in this single member district at the northern tip of Bloomingdale (Adams Street to Michigan Avenue) and represented by Commissioner Dianne Barnes will experience the biggest shift by being combined with voters in the western half of Edgewood north of Rhode Island Avenue and voting in an as-yet-to-be-determined location, but likely in Edgewood.
So there's some voting news. If anyone wants to read more about this plan, here is the Web link: http://www.dcboee.org/popup.asp?url=/pdf_files/nr_1213.pdf.
If people have any concerns or comments, written comments can be sent to the Board by October 30th. The address is District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, One Judiciary Square, 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 250- N, Washington, DC 20001.
If people have any concerns or comments, written comments can be sent to the Board by October 30th. The address is District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, One Judiciary Square, 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 250- N, Washington, DC 20001.
John
2 comments:
Thanks, John, for bringing some attention to this. There was a hearing last night, but I haven't seen any news coverage yet.
Some residents are concerned that these changes will create a problem in getting to the right polling location on election day. The goal of this change is to align the precincts with SMDs so that there are not multiple ballots at a polling place. For instance, more than a few voters in 5E07 (who have been split between Dunbar and Mt. Bethel), received the wrong ballot last election day.
Hopefully, BOEE can do a good job in getting the word out to all DC residents in general, and to each registered voter, in particular. I am sure there will be problems, inherent in any change, but perhaps not as many as the voter receiving the wrong ballot problem.
I wonder if they considered having check in by SMD at precincts serving multiple SMDs? Of course, that would require more personnel, and perhaps not offer the cost savings for fewer ballot versions.
@Bloomingdale resident, I agree that change makes sense and could work out well. The only (potential) problem I worry about is that if they combine 5E09 with Edgewood and move the polling location over there, folks from North Bloomingdale and Stronghold may decide that it's not worth trekking over to vote. Hopefully they'll find a compromise location like All Nations Baptist that could work - and be convenient - for everyone.
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