SNOW HILL A recent change
to Worcester County voting districts
has the local Elections Board seek-
ing additional polling places.
Worcester's seven districts saw
significant changes over the past
few months with the south end of
the county especially hit by big alter-
ations. The re-drafting of the dis-
tricts means that many voters will
have new representatives during
this election cycle and additional
polling places are being considered.
"We went to several areas and
made notes of different possible
polling places and we want the ones
that were more accessible," said
Patti Jackson, director of the elec-
tions board.
In each district, the county kept
former polling places, adding extra
locations in the districts that were
stretched through re-districting.
District 1 will retain First Baptist
Church in Girdletree and will be
adding the Pocomoke City Fire
Company and Pocomoke Commun-
ity Center.
District 2 is one of the areas that
most "needed additional polling
places due to district being `stretch-
ed' across the county," Jackson
wrote in a memo to the County
Commissioners.
That district will keep Snow Hill
Middle School, Newark Fire Com-
pany and Stephen Decatur Middle
School and will be adding Shiloh
United Methodist Church in Poco-
moke as well as St. Paul Episcopal
Church in Berlin.
A number of other sites were
considered but rejected, usually due
to inaccessibility for disabled voters
and limited parking.
District 3 will not be changing and
will maintain Ocean City Elemen-
tary, Ocean City Lions Club and
Berlin Intermediate School.
District 4 is another slice of the
south end of the county that was al-
tered significantly during the re-
drafting. Snow Hill Elementary
School and Showell Fire Depart-
ment will be kept, while Buckingham
Elementary School and Bucking-
ham Presbyterian Church in Berlin
will be added.
In District 5, the Ocean Pines Li-
brary and Ocean Pines Country
Club will be used, while District 6
will keep the Ocean Pines Com-
munity Hall, Showell Elementary
School and Bishopville Fire Depart-
ment.
Finally, District 7 will continue to
use the Roland E. Powell Conven-
tion Center in Ocean City.
By and large, the commission was
happy with the sites selected. How-
ever, Commissioner Judy Boggs
questioned the use of the Ocean
Pines Country Club in her district.
"In your minutes and in other in-
formation, you have said that a new
elevator was installed in the country
club," she told Jackson. "I would like
it noted that there is no elevator.
What the country club has is a
handicap lift."
The lift "doesn't accommodate
what an elevator accommodates,"
according to Boggs, and therefore
she worries that voting might be
slowed for handicapped residents.
Commissioner Virgil Shockley
had no complaints about the polls
but wondered if it might be easier to
double up on them at certain loca-
tions that could reach multiple dis-
tricts."And there's no way that you can
put two polling places in one spot
like Newark firehouse?" he asked.
It can't be done because the dis-
tricts are also different legislative
districts and use different ballot
styles, Jackson responded.
Shockley had one other question
related to the upcoming November
election regarding the county ethics
form. All of the current commission-
ers have had to file the document
but so far candidates who have
signed up to run against the incum-
bents have not been required to do
so."I thought that everybody had to
fill it out, win or lose, when you file
because it is rather personal," said
Shockley.
That is correct and the Elections
Board will get the forms to the can-
didates immediately, Jackson prom-
ised.
Worcester Seeks New Polling Sites
Page 16
January 24, 2014
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
By TRAVIS BROWN
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