Voting precincts could change by 2011

St. Mary Parish could have new voting precinct boundaries by 2011.

Registrar of Voters Jolene Holcombe is submitting a plan to reduce the number of St. Mary voting precincts from 53 to 47. With the change will also come shuffling of some voters from one precinct to another.

“We’ve made adjustments in almost every precinct,” Holcombe said. “This plan will also serve as building blocks for the federal government when they conduct the U.S. Census in 2010.”

Holcombe said the plan will not redistrict voters but, instead, will shuffle voters from one precinct to another. She appeared before the St. Mary Parish Council last Wednesday seeking their approval to allow her to submit it to the state Department of Housing and Governmental Affairs for an initial review.

The U.S. Justice Department will have to approve the plan before it goes into effect, which should be during the summer of 2011.

“Our goal with this plan was to close precincts where there were less than 100 voters and relocate them to other precincts. Also, we took precincts where there were large numbers and reduced those somewhat, in order to give each precinct somewhat of an equal field,” Holcombe explained.

Councilman Kevin Voisin was the first to grant Holcombe permission to submit her plans to the state.

“I applaud anything that is going to save us money,” he said.

Federal law mandates that states reapportion its voting districts after census results are completed, in order to redistribute an equal population of white, black and other minority voters, in each voting area. The process is governed through the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Again, we’re just moving precincts, not districts. These are proposed precinct boundary changes,” Holcombe said.

In another matter, as the St. Mary Parish Council continues to define its policies regarding appointments to its boards and commissions. The council agreed to form a committee to review alleged improprieties by Councilman David Hanagriff against members of two of its boards in West St. Mary.

The decision came after Hanagriff blasted Cypremort Point Commissioner Bob Auerbach for being unaware that the board meetings had to be audiotaped in accordance with Louisiana’s public meeting laws.

Hanagriff wanted originally to remove Auerbach and his peers because of the violation.

“Breaking state law is not a ‘nothing’ thing,” Hanagriff said. “What they did was illegal.”

But Councilman Chuck Walters chided Hanagriff, asking, “What parish councilman sitting here right now, knows all of his job?”

“How can we attack a man who is making $25 a meeting,” he said. “It is our jobs to know who is on the committees, attend the meetings and help them out. Let’s deal with this like ‘men’, and not try to stab someone. The only reason to remove a board member, in my opinion, is because they stole something. Our citizens are what make democracy.”

Councilman Craig Matthews suggested that the council write down guidelines for all commissions to avoid future misunderstandings.