By Rebecca Dopp
Times-News Correspondent
Sometime this month the county either needs to have
the voting precincts in Nephi redrawn or left alone, said
County Chairman Neil Cook.
Pat Ingram, county clerk, presented a copy of the way
the precincts are right now, by resident voters and whether
they are affiliated or not. She said that according to state
law, they cannot have more than 1,000 registered voters per
precinct.
"You'll notice," Ingram said, "that Nephi #4 has
1,180."
Ingram said that the county had until January 31 to
rectify the problem.
Cook suggested that a work session be scheduled so the
commissioners could look over the boundaries and decide how
they would proceed.
Cook also asked if this would affect the school
district. Ingram said that was up to the county's
discretion, and she did not have any numbers in her computer
to verify how many people there were in each precinct.
Bob Steele asked how much money it would take to make
a new precinct. Ingram said that maybe after they had looked
at the numbers and the boundaries the county might consider
combining precincts and ultimately save money. She said the
county only had 33 voting machines.
Commissioner Val Jones pointed out that by taking away
from one precinct and combining with another might not be
the best solution either.
"If you start putting them in those others
[precincts], they're not too far off," Jones said.
"It might be just a couple of years before we'll have to
move them around again."
Cook said that the best solution right now was to hold
a work session and look at all the options.
"It just has to be done before the 31st," Ingram
said.
Steele said that whatever happens the precincts will
eventually have to be redrawn, mostly due to the growth of
the county. He said that it didn't matter if they did it now
or later, it would still need to be done.
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