City of Alexandria, Virginia
________________
MEMORANDUM
DATE: OCTOBER 3, 2023
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: JOANNA C. ANDERSON, CITY ATTORNEY
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Introduction and First Reading. Consideration. Passage on First Reading of AN ORDINANCE to amend and reordain Section 2-2-10 (establishment of election districts and voting places) by amending Subsections (a) and (n) and adding Subsections (ee) and (ff), all of Chapter 2 (ELECTIONS), Title 2 (GENERAL GOVERNMENT) of The Code of the City of Alexandria, Virginia, 1981, as amended, to amend and reordain Section 12-1-4 (Election of school board members; date and manner of election), all of Chapter 1 (SCHOOL DISTRICT AND SCHOOL BOARD), Title 12 (EDUCATION, SOCIAL SERVICES AND WELFARE) of The Code of the City of Alexandria, Virginia, 1981, as amended, and to amend and reordain “The Official Map of the City of Alexandria, Virginia, Designating Election Districts and Voting Places,” adopted by Section 2-2-13 (MAP OF ELECTION DISTRICTS AND VOTING PLACES), all of Chapter 2 (ELECTIONS), Title 2 (GENERAL GOVERNMENT) of The Code of the City of Alexandria, Virginia, 1981, as amended.
BODY
_________________________________________________________________
ISSUE: Consideration of an ordinance to:
1) Establish the “Del” Pepper Community Resource Center as a new election district with associated changes in the John Adams School, and William Ramsay Center district boundaries. The voting location to be the Del Pepper Community Resource Center at 4850 Mark Center Drive. Additionally, to establish The View Alexandria as a new election district with associated changes in the NOVA Arts Center and F.T. Day School precinct boundaries. The voting location of this new election district will be The View Alexandria at 5000 Fairbanks Ave.
2) Amend Section 2-2-10 of the Code of the City of Alexandria to reflect the permanent voting location of Ladrey Senior Building Precinct at 901 Wythe Street (Charles Houston Center) and rename the precinct to “Old Town - North”.
3) Amend 12-1-4 to reflect changes to election districts in the list of districts that comprise the school board districts; and
4) Remove language making a temporary change of polling places for the Douglas MacArthur School Election District that self-terminates at the end of 2023.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council consider the proposed ordinance (Attachment 2) on first reading and schedule it for second reading, public hearing and final passage on Saturday, October 14, 2023.
BACKGROUND: The Alexandria Electoral Board (the “Electoral Board”), a three-member bipartisan board appointed by the Alexandria Circuit Court for staggered three-year terms, is responsible for making recommendations to City Council concerning changes in election district boundaries and the establishment of new election districts and polling places. The Code of Virginia, §24.2-307, gives City Council the statutory authority to make these changes.
In making its recommendations to City Council, the Electoral Board is primarily concerned with ensuring that election district boundaries conform to all currently established state and local district boundaries, such as House of Delegate boundaries or School Board Boundaries. Additionally, the board ensures all election districts comply with legal requirements, are a manageable size, have suitable voting facilities, and that those voting facilities are fully accessible. The Electoral Board monitors any changes in the availability of polling place facilities and considers the current number of registered voters, turnout statistics, the size of the voting facility and any likely residential development within the precinct.
Currently, three of the four precincts west of I-395 have approximately 5,000 registered voters. The Electoral Board has determined that new voting precincts are needed to accommodate continuing growth in this area. Additionally, reducing the per-precinct voter count should help reduce lines and make voting more accessible for the 2024 General Election. Redrawing precinct lines will not change a voter’s representatives but could adjust their election day voting location.
The Code of Virginia § 24.2-307 indicates that a precinct shall have no more than 5,000 registered voters when it is established. However, after a precinct is created, they can grow to be over 5,000 voters. If the number of voters in a precinct who vote in an election for President of the United States exceeds 4,000, the precinct boundaries must be redrawn so that the precinct has no more than 5,000 registered voters.
The expected turnout for the Presidential Election in November of 2024 is estimated to be around 80%. For a precinct of 5,000 this comes out to a turnout of 4,000 voters. In that situation, the City would be legally obligated to redraw the precinct boundaries.
|
Previous Presidential Election Total Turnout |
|
|
2016 |
2020 |
|
Precinct 208 - NOVA Arts |
78% |
73% |
|
Precinct 210 - FT Day |
80% |
76% |
|
Precinct 305 - John Adams |
72.5% |
66.5% |
|
Precinct 306 - William Ramsay |
76% |
71.5% |
DISCUSSION: On September 19, 2023, the Electoral Board voted unanimously to recommend that City Council add two new precincts in the City’s West End, as well as adjust the boundaries of four existing precincts effective with the passage of the attached ordinance, for the elections in 2024 and thereafter. These changes will enable City precincts to account for future growth from continued residential development in the West End and will better balance the number of registered voters in this area of Alexandria, making it more convenient for these voters to vote and reducing their wait times at the polls. Over 17,000 voters would benefit from being in a smaller-sized precinct.
Additionally, the Board voted unanimously to recommend the permanent move of the voting place for the Ladrey Election District to the Charles Houston Recreation Center and to rename the precinct “Old Town - North”. The Ladrey Election District’s polling place has been the Charles Houston Recreation Center since 2020, in a space separate from voters of the Charles Houston Recreation Center Election District.
1. Split two existing precincts (F.T. Day School and NOVA Arts Center) into three by adding The View Alexandria (5000 Fairbanks Ave) as a new precinct.
The proposed precinct boundary changes will result in the following transfers of voters:
a. 2,100 voters would move from F.T. Day Precinct to the View Alexandria Precinct.
b. 2,100 voters would move from NOVA Arts Center Precinct to F.T. Day School Precinct.
|
Specific Changes at Each Precinct |
|
Precinct Name |
Current Registration |
Proposed Registration |
|
NOVA Arts Center |
5,200 |
3,100 |
|
The View Alexandria |
0 |
2,600 |
|
F.T. Day School |
2,600 |
2,100 |
|
Combined Total |
7,800 |
7,800 |
NOVA Arts Center. NOVA Arts Center is the largest precinct in the City with 5,200 voters. Given the number of registered voters, the voting location at NOVA Arts Center would likely become unmanageable in terms of line length, and crowd control. With the addition of same day registration, additional space is needed to process the necessary paperwork and this space reduces the space available for voting. During the last two presidential elections, voters reported significant wait times at this location. Additionally, by reducing the size of NOVA Arts Center now, this precinct will be able to accommodate new residential development planned in this area of Alexandria.
The View Alexandria. The proposed change would provide the residents with a voting location within the precinct boundaries, including almost 100 voters who live at The View Alexandria. Management from The View Alexandria contacted the Electoral Board to express interest in serving as a voting location for their residents and the nearby residents.
2. Split two existing precincts (William Ramsay and John Adams) into three, by adding the Redella S “Del” Pepper Community Resource Center (4850 Mark Center Drive) as a new voting precinct.
The proposed precinct boundary changes will result in the following transfers of voters:
a. 3,100 voters would move from John Adams Precinct to the Del Pepper Community Resource Center Precinct.
b. 1,700 voters would move from William Ramsay Precinct to the John Adams Precinct.
|
Specific Changes at Each Precinct |
|
Precinct Name |
Current Registration |
Proposed Registration |
|
Del Pepper Center |
0 |
3,100 |
|
William Ramsay Center |
4,700 |
3,000 |
|
John Adams School |
4,700 |
3,300 |
|
Combined Total |
9,400 |
9,400 |
William Ramsay. William Ramsay is one of the largest election districts in the City with 4,700 voters. Reducing the number of voters at the voting location will assist in reducing parking issues and will also reduce wait times.
John Adams: John Adams is also one of the largest election districts in the City with 4,700 voters. The proposed change will allow for the election district to accommodate the new residential developments planned for this area and reduce wait times.
3. Permanently move the Ladrey Voting Location to the Charles Houston Recreation Center and rename the precinct “Old Town - North”.
In 2020, due to COVID-19, voting was temporarily moved from the Ladrey Senior Building (300 Wythe Street) and co-located at the Charles Houston Recreation Center. Currently, voters from both locations are voting in separate rooms within the facility. As the Ladrey facility is scheduled to be redeveloped, the Electoral Board recommends permanently moving the voting location and renaming the precinct to reduce voter confusion.
The Electoral Board continues to explore potential voting locations within the precinct to provide voters with a more centrally located voting location.
ADDITIONAL VOTING LOCATION CHANGES FOR 2024: On June 20, 2020, due to construction at the Douglas MacArthur School, City Council voted to temporarily relocate the voting location to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial for all elections through November 2023. As construction is now complete, the Electoral Board will send notification to all affected voters prior to the March 2024 Presidential Primary that the voting location has reverted to the Douglas MacArthur School. The June 2020 ordinance temporarily moving the polling place to the Masonic Temple self-terminates the temporary move at the end of 2023; the proposed ordinance removes the temporary move language for clarity and to avoid confusion.
OUTREACH AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: Prior to review by City Council, the Electoral Board has conducted a feedback survey to which 289 individuals responded. 91% of the respondents who indicated they resided within the affected area indicated the changes would make it easier for them to vote or not affect their ability to vote.
Additionally, the Electoral Board hosted a public feedback and informational session at the Redella S. “Del” Pepper Community Resource Center on the evening of August 8, 2023. Details of the proposals have been posted on the City’s website, and information was shared via eNews releases and social media. These proposed changes have been discussed and finalized over the course of many months during public meetings of the Alexandria Electoral Board, and all meeting minutes have been posted online.
The feedback has mostly been favorable, and the Board has received overall support for its proposals. There have been a few technical questions about parking, voter notification, and a few voters who have expressed a preference for remaining in the NOVA Arts Center.
As for additional outreach, if City Council approves the ordinance to add these changes, the Electoral Board will:
a. Send the required legal notification to all affected voters prior to the March 2024 Presidential Primary Election.
b. Work with the City’s Communications staff to ensure the public is adequately informed about these new polling places and the associated changes in precinct lines.
c. Have election-day maps (with directions) at NOVA Arts Center, F.T. Day, William Ramsay, and John Adams precincts to assist voters who appear at their former polling place.
TIMING OF THE CHANGES: Polling Place changes become effective after the passage of the ordinance and the receipt of a Certification of No Objection by the Office of the Attorney General. The proposed changes would be effective beginning all elections in 2024. This allows voters to maintain the same voting location for the entirety of the 2024 election cycle.
FISCAL IMPACT: The mailing to all affected voters will cost approximately $8,000. Due to the department’s ability to reduce costs associated with other projects, these costs can be accommodated within the current department budget.
The cost to staff two additional precincts for the two remaining elections within the fiscal year (the March 2024 Presidential Primary and the June 2024 Primary) would be approximately $6,600. These costs can be accommodated within the current department budget. In future fiscal years, the department’s budget will need to adjust to accommodate these changes.
For the two remaining elections within the current fiscal year, (the March 2024 Presidential Primary and the June 2024 Primary) voting equipment allocated for satellite voting locations, for use during General Elections and backup machines can be used to accommodate the new voting locations. However, next fiscal year, there would be a cost of approximately $25,000 to purchase voting equipment and approximately $8,000 for electronic pollbooks, to ensure sufficient equipment at the early voting locations and election day voting locations for the Presidential Election.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Ordinance Cover
2. Proposed Ordinance
3. GIS Map
STAFF:
Jean Keller, Acting Deputy City Manager
Angela Maniglia Turner, General Registrar and Director of Elections
Joanna Anderson, City Attorney
Shawn Lassiter, Assistant City Attorney
Members of the Alexandria Electoral Board