GREENFIELD — Months after the process first began, the precinct map for the city has been accepted by the state’s Local Election District Review Commission.
“We had hoped to complete this process by December 2021, but because of pandemic-related delays at the state and federal levels, it took longer than usual,” said City Clerk Kathy Scott.
The new voting map, which is made up of nine precincts, changes the precinct of roughly 800 voters, or 6.5% of all registered voters in the city, according to a city press release. Voters affected by the change will receive a notice by mail from the city clerk.
The state’s acceptance of the reprecincting map follows a City Council vote in December to approve the revised reprecincting map for the city — a vote that came as part of a request for the state to review it again in hopes of better aligning it with the House of Representatives district map that legislators approved in October, which left Greenfield split between two districts.
Scott told councilors prior to that vote that the proposed precinct map accomplishes the two desires she had when she first reached out to the state: to avoid split precincts and ensure seated and elected councilors remain in their respective precincts.
Scott had explained to councilors that when the Legislature voted to split Greenfield — despite opposition from residents and local officials — they used the 2010 precinct map, not the 2020 precinct map. The resulting precinct map left only Precincts 1, 2 and 5 intact, with the other six precincts split between the 1st Franklin and 2nd Franklin districts that are now represented by state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, and Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol, respectively.
“Without these new precincts,” Scott said, “we would have been forced to buy additional voting machines and related equipment.”
The new voting precinct map is available at bit.ly/3O013gs.
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne