Voting precinct changes may cause confusion
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Election officials are hoping changes in Shelby County’s voting precincts will not cause problems during next Tuesday’s primary election.
But redrawn districts following the census as well as changes in some of the voting places are apt to cause confusion among the county’s more than 87,000 voters.
According to Probate Judge Patricia Fuhrmeister, there are several changes voters need to be aware of before heading to their polling places on June 1.
The Board of Registrars sent updated cards to all Shelby County voters about a month ago, according to registrar Tina Coe.
Those cards inform voters about changes in polling places and changes in their redrawn districts, which would affect their commission district, for instance.
If there are questions, residents should call the registrar’s office at 669-3913 before Tuesday to minimize confusion.
Some of the major changes that Judge Fuhrmeister pointed to include:
n Voters who have been assigned to Precinct 7, Chelsea City Hall, will actually cast their ballots at Chelsea Middle School. Construction on the new city hall is not complete, so voting had to be moved to the middle school.
n Voters who are assigned to Precinct 18, Valleydale Baptist Church, should go to the new VBC building on Valleydale Road.
n The Old Chelsea Fire Hall is no longer a voting place for those assigned to Precinct 10. Those voters will now cast their ballots at North Shelby Baptist Church Youth Blast.
n The Siluria Depot is no longer a voting place. Those voters in Precinct 26 should cast their ballots at Westwood Baptist Church in Alabaster.
n The Columbiana First Baptist Church is no longer a voting place. Those voters in Precinct 37 will vote at the Columbiana Recreation Building, located at 200 Washington Street.
n Camp Branch Methodist Church is no longer a voting place. Those voters in Precinct 36 will vote at the Camp Branch Civic Center.
n Voters who have formerly voted at the Orr Park and Montevallo City Hall voting locations will now vote at Montevallo First Baptist Church.
n Voters who formerly voted at the Spring Creek Water Authority will now vote at Bay Springs Baptist Church with some of them moving to the Old Shelby School voting location.
n The Greystone voters were divided between the clubhouse and the fire station in that area.
These are just a few of the changes. To ensure the least amount of confusion, voters should check their Voter Identification Cards for voting location information or call the Registrar’s Office