The Cottage Grove City Council approved the reestablishing of new precinct boundaries and designated polling places for the city’s northwest neighborhoods for future elections at the Aug. 16 council meeting.
The move was in response to substantial population growth in the 1st Precinct, particularly north of Park Senior High School, in order to keep precinct voter rolls low enough to accommodate voters going to the polls on election days. As a result of the changes, the city is redrawing the boundaries of Precinct 1, bisecting the northwest corner to create a new 8th Precinct. No changes are being made to Precincts 2-7.
The newly created 8th Precinct will now include the neighborhoods west of Hinton Avenue South and north of 70th Street South. Voters in those neighborhoods will now be directed to Cottage Grove Elementary School, located at 7447 65th St. S., as their designated polling place. Those in Precinct 1 living east of Hinton Avenue South will continue to go to the polls at Park Senior High School as usual.
The resolution, submitted by City Clerk Tamara Anderson on Aug. 9, notes that changes to precincts must be adopted at least 10 weeks before the next election date, and with this passage the new boundaries will be in effect for the upcoming Nov. 7 election. With the city council’s approval, the boundary changes will be submitted to the State of Minnesota for approval within 30 days. Once the State approves the redistricting, they will become effective immediately for the upcoming election.
The city’s maximum recommended number of registered voters per precinct is 4,500, to ensure residents are able to vote in a reasonable amount of time.
According to Anderson, “District 1, before reestablishing of the precinct, had 6,826 registered voters.” The newly established 8th Precinct will be comprised of 3,071 registered voters, lightening the polling day load on the previously drawn 1st Precinct by that amount, bringing it below the recommended threshold with room to spare.
“Washington County and the City of Cottage Grove work together as part of a Joint Powers Election Agreement,” said Anderson. “The need for the additional precinct was acknowledged by both parties due to the increased development and growth in population in the northwest portion of City. With the addition of the new precinct there will be fewer voters at Park High, which should speed up voting for the public.”
With Precincts 2-7 remaining unchanged, the newly drawn precinct polling places beginning this November will be:
