New political precincts, as well as redrawn districts for three Bartholomew County commissioners and four county council members, have received final local approval.
The Ninth Congressional District, represented by Joseph A. “Trey” Hollingsworth, R-Jeffersonville, will now include the southwest part of the county, taking in all of Jackson, Ohio and Wayne townships, as well as the southern part of Sand Creek Township.
A new precinct has been created out of the northern part of Sand Creek Township, including Elizabethtown, that will be known as Precinct 5350, Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz said.
That new precinct, as well as the remainder of Bartholomew County and the entire city of Columbus, will be part of the 2nd Congressional District represented by Rep. Greg Pence, R-Columbus.
For the most part, the commissioners voted for the same changes they initially approved during first reading Nov. 29. However, the county has now complied with requests received Dec. 20 from the state that call for three small precincts to be merged into other precincts, so each has about 600 active voters, Lentz explained.
The commissioners agreed to eliminate:
- Precinct 3000, which is now merged with 3100
- Precinct 5400, which is now merged with 5300
- Precinct 5500, which is now merged with 5700
The most significant change resulting from the new districts involve 363 voters in areas of southwest Columbus — as well as just outside the city limits — who will be voting in Council District 3, now represented by Mark Gorbett. Currently, these residents are voting in Council District 4, represented by Jorge Morales.
Because all Bartholomew County residents vote for all three county commissioners, the new districts and precincts will have no impact on those races. Precincts have also lost some of their former significance with the development of vote centers.
When the initial vote was taken last month, Lentz repeatedly maintained there has been no evidence of local gerrymandering. Most changes were necessitated by annexations and new developments over the past 10 years, she said.
For the past three weeks, no objections or concerns regarding the changes have been voiced to the county, according to Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz and County Administrator Tina Douglas.
What continues to favor Bartholomew County Republicans is straight-ticket voting. In last year’s general election, 9,944 residents cast an all-GOP ballot, compared to only 2,955 Democrats who voted the party line.
Although new maps displaying changes have been created, Lentz said her office won’t receive copies until both state and county officials agree on all new districts and precincts.
The goal is to have that done before candidacies begin to be filed on Jan. 5, the clerk said.
