JDPJ to change voting facility location for two precincts
JENNINGS — Some voters in Jennings will be casting their ballots at a new location next year
The Jeff Davis Parish Police Jury voted unanimously Wednesday to permanently move precincts 9A and 9B from the Jennings Parks and Recreation Center on East Academy Avenue to the new Sowela Tech Community College on North Sherman Street near Jennings High School.
The change will take effect Jan. 1, 2019 with the first election slated for March 30.
“I think it is a good move that those two precincts are being moved there,” Registrar of Voters Joann Blair said. “I went and viewed the facility and it is really up to code and it is handicap accessible.”
The new location will also provide more parking, better lighting and more room for the voting machines and poll workers.
The Sowela campus is already serving as the polling place for 1,649 voters in Precinct 7, which was relocated to the new campus after the former campus moved to the new site earlier this year.
Police Juror Steve Eastman, who represents the district, said the Sowela campus is the better of two locations which were being considered for the move.
“We had another option, but we felt this location is a better option due to school traffic,” Eastman said.
New voter information cards will soon be mailed to voters alerting them that the location of their voting precinct will change next year, Blair said.
The move will affect 295 voters in Precinct 9A and 1,461 in Precinct 9B both of which cover a large portion of the city from West Plaquemine Street, along Cutting Avenue and Roberts Avenue, Academy Avenue to the Mermenatu River Bridge on U.S. 90 east. The move will not affect precinct lines.
Renovation of the recreation center created the need to relocate the polling precincts. The center is being remodeled to enlarge its shop area for equipment maintenance and relocation of staff offices, according to Mayor Henry Guinn.