Hall County residents eager to fulfill their civic duty in city elections Tuesday might want to double-check they’re going to the right polling place.
The Hall County Board of Elections approved several voting precinct consolidations and polling location changes Sept. 1, and voters should have gotten those notices in the mail.
Here’s a quick summary of the changes:
• Oakwood II and Oakwood III precinct voters who used to cast ballots at West Hall Baptist Church now will vote at the OGT Family Worship Center.
• Morgan II and Morgan III precinct voters who used to cast ballots at Poplar Springs Baptist Church now will vote at Blackshear Place Baptist Church.
• Bark Camp and Murrayville precinct voters who used to cast ballots at Living Waters Outreach now will vote at The River Community Church.
• Gainesville I and Riverbend precinct voters who used to cast ballots at St. Michael Catholic Church now will vote at the Gainesville Civic Center.
• New Holland and Glade precinct voters who used to cast ballots at the former East Hall library branch now will vote at the East Hall Community Center.
• Polling in Friendship II will move to the new Cherokee Bluffs Park, and polling in Friendship III will move to the Mulberry Creek Community Center.
• The new Friendship IV will hold voting at the Spout Springs Library.
• Other polling site changes include moving the Big Hickory precinct to Journey Church and the Wilson precinct along the Ga. 369 corridor to Pleasant Hill Baptist Church from Free Chapel Worship Center.
Elections Director Charlotte Sosebee has said the county is testing the waters on a number of changes this year ahead of elections in 2016, when voter turnout is likely to be higher with the U.S. presidency at stake.
Moreover, Sosebee said she had to meet a September deadline to submit the new precinct plans to state and federal authorities.