Upper Burrell awaits judge's OK on redrawn voting districts

Westmoreland County elections officials Tuesday approved a redistricting plan for Upper Burrell that is expected to shorten lines at the polls.

The proposal calls for moving the line that separates the town’s two voting precincts several blocks in the Seventh Street and Pleasant Valley Road areas, elections bureau director Beth Lechman said.

“There is one minor adjustment to even out the districts,” Lechman said.

The move is in response to a lawsuit filed this year by 20 Upper Burrell residents who claim one of the town’s districts, with more than 1,100 registered voters, has long lines on Election Day. The town’s other precinct lists just more than 340 registered voters in the district.

Lechman said the revised districts will shift nearly 400 voters to ensure the township’s two districts each have similar numbers of registered voters. Under the recommended plan, Upper Burrell’s 1st Precinct will have 752 voters and the 2nd Preinct will have 723.

For voters, the proposed change won’t alter where they vote. Both precincts currently vote at the township’s municipal building.

The plan will go before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr. this year for final approval. If accepted by the judge, it will be implemented for the November general election, Lechman said.

State guidelines recommend that precincts in Pennsylvania not exceed 1,200 voters. County officials said 44 of Westmoreland County’s 305 precincts exceed that threshold.

Voters in Murrysville last week filed a lawsuit seeking to have two of its voting precincts redrawn. They say polling locations in Newlonsburg and Sardis, each with more than 3,400 registered voters, are too large. County officials said they will endorse redistricting each of Murrysville’s six precincts to better district voters throughout the municipality.