Staff Report_Precinct Boundary Adjustments 2023

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Summary:Ordinance 2022-002 removed voting precincts from county code and reaffirmed that the Kittitas County Auditor is authorized to adjust voting precinct boundaries as required to bring the precincts into compliance with Chapter 29A.16 RCW RCW 29A.16.040 States: The county legislative authority of each county in the state shall divide the county into election precincts and establish the boundaries of the precincts. (1) Precinct boundaries may be altered at any time as long as sufficient time exists prior to a given election for the necessary procedural steps to be honored. Except as permitted under subsection (3) of this section, no precinct changes may be made during the period starting fourteen days prior to the first day for candidates to file for the primary election and ending with the day of the general election. (2) The county legislative authority may establish by ordinance a limitation on the maximum number of active registered voters in each precinct within its jurisdiction. The number may be less than the number established by law, but in no case may the number exceed one thousand five hundred active registered voters. (3) The county auditor shall temporarily adjust precinct boundaries when a city or town annexes unincorporated territory to the city or town, or whenever unincorporated territory is incorporated as a city or town. The adjustment must be made as soon as possible after the approval of the annexation or incorporation. The temporary adjustment must be limited to the minimum changes necessary to accommodate the addition of the territory to the city or town, or to establish the eligible voters within the boundaries of the new city or town, and remains in effect only until precinct boundary modifications reflecting the annexation or incorporation are adopted by the county legislative authority. In accordance with the RCW and intent of Ordinance 2022-02, the County Auditors Office is recommending nine (9) map changes to the boundaries of Kittitas County Precincts effective upon approval by the BOCC. The primary intent behind these changes is to reduce precinct/district ballot “splits.” The Auditor’s office has determined that only a limited number of voters are affected by the changes and has invited the respective political parties to review the changes, confirming that they did not observe any issues or impacts to their PCOs. Recommendation: Request BOCC approval of the 2023 Precinct Boundary Adjustments upon which, the Auditors Office shall publish the legal descriptions and coordinate with IT to update the precincts maps in GIS.