Two polling locations permanently moved

Move to affect precincts 9A, 9B

Two voting precincts in Jennings are being permanently moved to the new Sowela Technical Community College.

The Jeff Davis Police Jury approved a measure to relocate the polling locations in order to allow for the remodel of the city’s recreational center on East Academy.

Dist. 7 Police Juror Steve Eastman said that while the jurors considered two options, he believed that Sowela was the best option for the precincts.

Jeff Davis Parish Registrar of Voters Joann Blair said that the move would affect the 295 voters in Jennings Precinct 9A and 1,356 voters in Precinct 9B, who have been voting at the recreational facility for over 25 years. Voters in Precinct 7, which was already located at the old Sowela Campus on North Main Street, will be using the new campus as their polling location as well.

Blair said she viewed the facility recently and she believes it will be the best place to hold the precincts.

“I had the opportunity to visit the new Sowela campus and it is a beautiful facility that is handicapped accessible,” she said. “With precinct 7 already there, there is still plenty of room for the voting machines for all three precincts.”

Blair said her office would be giving voters plenty of notice of the location change in order to avoid any confusion on voting day.

“We will be informing people by sending out new voter information cards to every registered voter,” Blair said. “The polling place change will be noted on the card and we will also be required by law to post the change in the official journal so there will be plenty of notice.”