Commission approves new Floyd County vote precinct proposal

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Unless there’s a large public call for something different, the new voting precincts have likely been set for Floyd County.

In a quick meeting Tuesday morning, the three-member Temporary Redistricting Commission approved the few precinct boundary changes necessitated by new state legislative districts, and set a public hearing for the proposal for Monday, Nov. 29.

Members of the commission were appointed by the county Board of Supervisors, and are Mike Staudt, Susan Nelson and Brian Bierschenk.

Under the plan, Rock Grove and Rockford townships, in the northwest corner of the county, will each be its own precinct, instead of each being part of larger precincts with townships to the east.

Rudd township, which used to be part of a precinct with Rock Grove Township, will now be part of the Floyd-Cedar-Niles precinct.

Ulster Township, which used to be part of a precinct with Rockford Township, will now be part of the St. Charles-Riverton precinct.

The county required at least some changes because the county is now split between two Iowa House districts and two Iowa Senate districts, and county voting precincts can’t cross legislative district lines.

Most of the county now belongs to Iowa House District 58 and Iowa Senate District 29, but the northwest corner of the county, the Rock Grove and Rockford townships, are now part of Iowa House District 60 and Iowa Senate District 30.

At the commission’s first meeting, held last week, members had said they favored making as few changes as were necessary, so that most people can continue to vote in the same place they had become familiar with.

Rudd Township residents will now vote in another location, likely the Floyd ​​Community Center for the new Rudd-Floyd-Cedar-Niles Precinct.

Ulster Township residents will also have a new polling location, but so may all of the residents of the new Ulster-St. Charles-Riverton Precinct.

St. Charles-Riverton voters currently vote at the Cedar Valley Transportation Center, but Floyd County Auditor and ​​Commissioner of Elections Gloria Carr said that polling spot has been unsatisfactory and it’s possible the new precinct will vote at the Youth Enrichment Center at the Floyd County Fairgrounds.

The public hearing on the new voting precincts will be held at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 29, in the district courtroom on the third floor of the courthouse.

After that hearing, the Temporary Redistricting Commission can make changes to the plan — in which case, members said, they would probably hold another public hearing — or they can approve the plan and send it on the the Floyd County Board of Supervisors.

The supervisors set the precincts through passing an ordinance, then send the map to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office for final approval.

“Precinct boundaries shall become effective on January 15 of the second year following the year in which the census was taken and shall be used for all subsequent elections,” according to Iowa Code.

The new voting precincts will be in effect for the 2022 general election, including candidate nomination filings due in March, the primary election June 7 and the general election Nov. 8.

Once the precincts have been set, they will also be the basis for the state Legislative Services Agency to draw new supervisors districts in the county.

Floyd County voters in August approved changing from the current at-large form of electing supervisors to “plan three,” which divides the county into three supervisor districts, only persons living in a district can run to represent that district, and only voters living in a district can vote for that district’s supervisor.