***This is historical information that were proposals. They were NOT the final changes made. Please visit the Map Room for maps of the final changes.

 

The Macoupin County Board will soon be deciding on the district lines for the next ten years of each County Board district as well as possible consolidation of precincts. The county board district lines will be considered based on 2020 census data and precinct consolidation will be considered based on the number of registered voters in the precinct, per state statute.

Proposed County Board District Map for 2022-2032
Click on the map for a larger version
Proposed County Board Map

Proposed Districts &
Current Members
 Precinct Changes to District 

District 1 – Klausing and Vojas  No Change
District 2 – Heuer and Payne  No Change
District 3 – Acord and Dunnagan  Lose Shipman 2
District 4 – Dragovich and Thomas  Gain Cahokia 5
Lose Cahokia 1 and 4
District 5 – Pomatto and Schmidt  Gain Cahokia 1 and 4
Lose Cahokia 5
District 6 – Harding and Quarton  Gain Shipman 2
District 7 – Ibberson and Kiel  No Change
District 8 – Starr and Wiggins  No Change
District 9 – Armour and Siegel  No Change

Click here for census data by district and precinct for this proposal.

Proposed Precinct Consolidation
Most townships have not had their precinct lines changed since 1976 when the County’s precinct lines were initially drawn.

Things have changed in the last forty years and it seems like time some of these precinct lines change as well. The County Board is considering changing precinct lines in some townships. The current proposal is outlined with maps below. It will lower the number of precincts in the County from 61 total to 44. There are a few reasons for this:

More fair to voters. Currently, there are major discrepancies in how many voters are in each precinct. Right now, Brighton 3 has 1,503 voters total in the precinct. Carlinville 4 however only has 166. It isn’t fair to voters in Brighton 3 to potentially have 1,502 other voters that need to vote at the precinct while Carlinville 4 voters only have 165 other voters to deal with. This proposal will help equal out those discrepancies.

More efficient for everyone. Each precinct is entitled to 5 Election judges to work the polls. There would be 305 judges working on Election Day if every precinct had all five spots filled. It has been nearly a decade since Macoupin even came close to having 305 judges working. By consolidating precincts, the number of judges decreases considerably meaning it will be easier to have every precinct fully staffed and meaning it will take less time for everyone to vote, ballots to be counted and results to be released.

More cost-effective for taxpayers. The cost of each precinct is about $1,000. By consolidating precincts to make things more fair for voters and more efficient for everyone, voting will also become more cost-effective for taxpayers. This proposal will save $11,000 for each Election. This proposal will also help cut down future costs by allowing the tabulators used to count ballots that are no longer going out to a precinct to be kept as backups for machines that may break or need replacing. Instead of having to spend a significant amount of money buying even a refurbished machine, Macoupin can now just use our backups.

The County Board will be voting on this proposal at the November Board meeting.

Township Proposed Changes Map 

Brighton  Map
Bunker Hill  Map
Cahokia  Map
Carlinville  Map
Dorchester  Map
Gillespie  Map
Girard  Map
Mt. Olive  Map
Nilwood  Map
Shipman  Map
Staunton  Map
Virden  Map

For a breakdown on registered voters by precinct in 2000, 2010, now and under the proposal, visit this link.

Upcoming Meetings
The Re-apportionment Committee will meet Tuesday, November 2nd at 5:30 pm to recommend possible changes to the County Board. The whole Board will consider those changes at their Tuesday, November 9th meeting at 6:00 pm. The public is invited to attend either or both meetings, which will be held at the County Board room, on the second floor of the jail complex at 215 South East St, Carlinville, IL 62626.

Information on County Board Redistricting and Precinct Consolidation
The County Board is currently made up of 9 districts, each electing two members. Per state statute, the Board has to review those districts every ten years after the census is completed to try and ensure that the population is as close to equal as possible between the districts.The county’s precincts will also be considered for consolidation. Each of the county’s 26 townships are required to have at least one precinct and polling place. If a township has enough voters, it can be split into precincts and possibly have more polling places. Most townships with more than one precinct have not had changes to those precinct lines for decades, which has left some imbalance in the number of voters in a precinct. The Board is considering consolidation to try and balance out the number of voters per precinct.