Questions arise over proposed O’Farrell polling location

By Bobby Horn Jr.
news@casscountynow.com

An early morning fire at the O’Farrell Community Center on Feb. 15, sent county election officials scrambling to find a new Precinct 15 polling location prior to the March 1, Party Primary Election. A temporary spot was found at the O’Farrell Baptist Church.
Unable to use the community center this upcoming November, a new site had been proposed: Piney Grove Baptist Church on Hwy. 77 East between Atlanta and Douglassville. 
On July 26, Cass County Commissioners Court was scheduled to vote on the new location, however questions concerning the location halted  the vote. Judge Becky Wilbanks asked that commissioners to table the issue until the next meeting to allow County Clerk Jamie O’Rand to conduct research regarding its location.
The question was in which voting precinct is the church located. 
While at O’Farrell, the box was located in voting Precinct 15. 
This is not true for the proposed Pine Grove Baptist location. 
According to a voting precinct map on display at the Cass County Tax Assessor- Collector’s Office, the boundary between Precincts 15 and 13T is Highway 77 East. Since the church sits north of the highway, it is within the 13T boundaries. Precinct 13T’s polling location is the auditorium inside the Atlanta City Hall.
Under state election law, polling locations cannot be relocated in a way which puts an extra burden on voters. Also, when selecting a new polling location it cannot be placed outside the current precinct boundaries. Doing this would require redrawing the boundaries and risking allegations of gerrymandering (or drawing districts in a way which influences the vote).
Precinct 2 Commissioner Jon Borseth asked O’Rand to gather some data on how many voters have used the location, while Precinct 1 Commissioner Brett Fitts questioned why Red Hill Community Center could not be used as a polling location.
Once commissioners court signs off on the new Precinct 15 polling location, they would then send a petition to the Texas Ethics Commission for their approval for the location.