Merging small, adjacent voting districts would save more than $100k a year, officials say
Reducing the number Delaware County’s electoral districts would save the county government more than $100,000 a year, officials told the Board of Elections.
All told, Delaware County currently has 428 voting precincts. James P. Allen, the county’s director of elections, presented a plan to condense 104 of the low population districts into 51.
Delaware County currently has approximately 410,000 registered voters and 428 precincts, averaging 958 voters per precinct. By comparison, Montgomery County averages 1,400 voters per precinct, and Chester County averages 1,650. The disparity in Delaware County stems from 24 “micro-precincts” serving fewer than 400 voters and 197 precincts serving between 401 and 900 voters.
“This plan will save over $53,000 per election, more than $106,000 annually, while improving service to voters,” said Allen. “This is a reasonable step to merge small precincts, that already vote together in the same room or the same neighborhood. None of these mergers will result in super-sized precincts.”
Under the proposed plan, smaller precincts would be merged with adjacent ones that share common voting districts, resulting in more balanced precinct sizes within the ideal range of 1,200–2,000 voters. No precinct would exceed 1,800 voters, ensuring efficiency. Under the plan, 89 percent of voters in the consolidation areas would continue voting at their current polling sites, while the remaining 11 percent would shift to new locations within about a quarter mile of their original sites.
