KINGWOOD — Maps of Preston County’s newly drawn magisterial districts — a requirement as part of the statewide redistricting caused by the census — will be posted around the county until the final vote to accept the map on Dec. 14.
County Clerk Linda Huggins presented the magisterial district map at the Preston County Commission’s regular meeting Wednesday. The commission met in a work session last week to discuss the redistricting effort as a whole and next week Huggins will present the new precinct map.
District 1 is made up of the Bruceton Mills, Terra Alta and Hazelton areas. District 2 holds Kingwood, Tunnelton and Albright, and District 3 has Masontown, Reedville, Newburg, Fellowsville, and the Aurora area.
Commission President Don Smith, Commissioner Dave Price and Commissioner Samantha Stone all voted to accept the map as presented and have it published to the public.
Huggins said the map will be posted in places such as libraries, convenience stores, post offices, and the county annex. It will also be published in the newspaper.
The goal with magisterial districts, by state code, is to keep each district within plus or minus 5%, Huggins said. However, there are multiple exceptions to consider, such as not dividing historical areas of interest, neighborhoods or small cities, and not making it burdensome for people to go vote.
District 1 has 9,995 people — 4,265 of which are in the precinct that has the prison — District 2 has a population of 8,549, and District 3 has 9,240 residents, Huggins said.
Huggins said she spent a lot of hours working on the map and looking at it a lot of different ways. She also consulted with 911 when arranging the map because what looks close on a map might not be the reality on the ground.
Members of the public who wish to comment on the map can do so at the Dec. 14 county commission meeting or reach out to Huggins’ office.
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