Step 2 in the redistricting process has been completed. After the county commission drew the commission district lines, the Election Commission could begin our work. We needed to review the precinct lines as we had some precincts that were too large, some that were too small, and many that needed the dividing lines reviewed.
The Election Commission has approved the new precincts at the Election Commission meeting on November 22nd. To see the approved map, click here. They have also approved a new precinct naming scheme. Our existing precinct naming scheme dated back to the early 1900’s. It probably made sense then but the growth over the intervening decades made it pretty non-sensical now.
In addition, the State of Tennessee now requires that precinct names be four characters. Our existing precincts are five characters.
The new precinct names will be four characters. The first two characters will be the county commission district and the second two characters will be a number from 01 to 12. 01 will be assigned to the northwestern most precinct in a commission district, 02 will be assigned to the precinct immediately to the east of 01. This numbering will continue in rows east to west, then north and south. The final precinct will be the southwestern most precinct in that district. To see the list of precincts, click here.
There are more steps in the redistricting process. Next, we will find polling places for each new precinct and make sure that they are large enough, have sufficient parking, and are ADA accessible.
We will receive the new Congressional, State Senate, and State House districts from the Legislature in January. More adjustments to the precinct lines may be required then as a state senate district line may not cross a precinct line.
The final step in the process is to notify voters whose polling places have changed, which will likely happen in March, 2022.
