Following extensive discussion Tuesday, Lynchburg City Council agreed that it will try to move the Heritage Elementary School polling place in time for the May elections, although it remains questionable whether that deadline can be met.
Council debated whether it was worthwhile or even wise to forge ahead on such a short timetable, but ultimately voted to set the necessary review process in motion.
Exactly where the new polling place would be was the subject of considerable wrangling. Liberty University had offered the use of the Candlers Station shopping center across the street from its campus, but that was flatly rejected by a majority of council on the grounds it was unfairly designed to benefit only one segment of the electorate to the detriment of other voters in the precinct.
The Candlers Station shopping center actually sits just outside the voting precinct under scrutiny. It would still be an eligible site, as state law allows polling places to be located up to a mile outside a precinct’s boundaries, but several council members said they were disturbed by the prospect of going outside the precinct to find a location.
“That is disrespectful to the permanent residents of this precinct,” Vice Mayor Bert Dodson said, adding other voters don’t want to be considered “second rate” to the LU students.
The vice mayor made a counterproposal that called for the polling place to be moved to the Lynchburg First Church of the Nazarene on Wards Ferry Road, which is close to the center of the precinct.
Dodson said he contacted the church and it was open to discussing the idea. “This is a good compromise relative to the needs of the students of Liberty and the permanent residents here,” Dodson said.
Council voted 6-1 to schedule a public hearing on the First Church of the Nazarene site during its next meeting in two weeks. Council must approve a new location at least 60 days before the May 4 elections if the change is to be implemented by then.
Even then, it’s questionable whether the process can be completed in time. After council makes it decision, the new location must be submitted for federal approval. That review usually takes a minimum of two months.
LU has requested the polling place be moved, citing traffic congestion and inadequate parking at Heritage Elementary. The university’s on-campus students — who have been registering to vote locally in record numbers at the school’s urging –— vote at Heritage Elementary and now make up the majority of that precinct’s electorate.
In the past year and a half, Heritage Elementary has become the city’s largest precinct with more than 5,000 active registered voters.
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