Manchester Reshuffles Voting Districts

The town's Registrars of Voters have drafted new voting districts for the town in order to align with the state-wide by the General Assembly. 

Under the redrafting voting districts, which were devised by Registrars Timothy Becker and Francis Maffe Jr., two current polling places, the 6th voting district at Nathan Hale Elementary School and the 10th voting district at Washington Elementary School, would be eliminated. Voters who had previously voted at those districts would be folded into the eight remaining districts based on location and proximity to the nearest polling place. 

Maffe said the new voting districts became necessary when the Connecticut General Assembly’s Reappointment Committee released its redrafted map of state House and Senatorial districts earlier this month which split Manchester up into four separate districts in the Connecticut House of Representatives. Prior to the change, Manchester only had three House districts.

The changes are necessary to reflect changes in the state’s overall population compiled by the 2010 census. The Connecticut General Assembly redrafts the state's election borders every 10 years to adhere to changes in population. 

Maffe said he and Becker devised the new maps based on voting history and with an aim towards trying to keep the districts evenly distributed between Democratic, Republican and independent voters. 

"Tim and I sat down for a number of days…and we redid the map, what we considered pretty much even," said Maffe, the town's Democratic registrar. 

Becker said politics did not play a major role in the office's redrafting of the voting districts, and noted that under the state's redrafted map a Republican candidate now had a likely shot of claiming the 13th District. That seat has been held by Democrat Jack Thompson since 1986. 

"We believe it makes the most logical sense," Becker, the town's Republican registrar, said of the redrafted voting districts. 

Before the new districts take effect, however, they must be approved by the town's Board of Directors, which is scheduled to review and likely vote on the proposed districts at part of its Jan. 3 meeting. If approved, the new districts would effect this year's primary and general elections. 

There were 26,806 registered voters in Manchester as of Wednesday.