Voting precincts may be consolidated

By Staff
Jason Cannon, FCT Publisher
The Franklin County Commission voted Monday to take action on something that could change the location of where Franklin County's residents vote.
The commission voted to hold a public hearing Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. to discuss the possibility of consolidating voting precincts where polling places do not meet federal mandates in regards to voters with special needs.
"If you read all the rules and regulations, there's several polling places out there that don't qualify as handicapped accessible," Commissioner Rayburn Massey said.
The county already meets federal regulations regarding providing special needs ballots. The issue here, Massey said, is the accessibility of the polling place itself.
In order to get in compliance the county may have to consolidate several polling places into one that does meet federal regulations, such as a fire station or a high school.
Such a move would not affect the precinct number, however the place where voters go to cast their ballots may change.
In other business, the-commission:
authorized the sheriff to-look for a new vehicle for his department._