Select Board Votes To Keep 21 Voting Precincts In Arlington

ARLINGTON, MA — The Select Board voted Oct. 13 to keep 21 voting precincts in Arlington, remarking on support from the community to maintain the status quo.

The vote was 4-1, with member Len Diggins in favor of lowering the number of precincts to 16.

Among his reasons for voting against 21 precincts, Diggins told Patch partner YourArlington he felt 16 would be easier to manage for the town clerk and encourage more collaboration between Town Meeting members and the community.

Select Board Chair Steve DeCourcey said the change "isn't what most people want," while other members said it would create a potential headache for the Finance Committee and long-term planning.

Communities in Massachusetts re-examine precinct boundaries every 10 years based on new census data. Town Clerk Juli Brazile had proposed reducing the number of precincts to 16 to allow more flexibility in the face of anticipated changes to election law, especially regarding early voting and vote by mail.

The state Legislature released its proposed district maps on Oct. 12. The town's Reprecincting Working Group will review the options and present a proposal to the Select Board on Oct. 25.

If the boundaries for the districts cannot be matched to the precinct boundaries approved by the Select Board, Arlington will operate with split precincts, meaning a precinct would be represented by two people and have multiple ballots in state elections.