PRINCETON: New Princeton voting map is completed

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
   Twenty-two new voting districts were drawn for the consolidated Princeton by the Mercer County Board of Elections on Monday night.
   Kevin Zelinsky, engineer from Remington, Vernick & Arango Engineers, designed the map in collaboration with input from the Mercer County Board of Elections, the Joint Shared Services and Consolidation Commission and the public.
   The two largest area districts remain in the far corners of what is now the township, the smallest are in the densest parts of the what is now the borough. All boundaries are natural or manmade among the districts, which are done by voter turnout in each area. An ideal voting district has 750 votes cast.
   ”I think its a good map and by looking at it, you can’t tell where the old borough and township were,” said Dominic Magnolo, chair of the Mercer County Board of Elections.
   Calling students a “transient bunch” who move around in the dorms, which are spread in two districts, the two university districts were left intact as proposed to allow for easier accounting and ease of voter registration for the students.
   Both political parties were happy with the map.
   John Durbin, Princeton Township Democratic Party chair, said he was very happy with the way the process was handled.
   Top borough Republican Dudley Sipprelle did have one concern in regards to turnout and the convenience of polling places, especially in voting district A, which has traffic issues of the Great Road and Route 206.
   Mr. Magnolo said they would look at the issue.
   Anton Lahnston, chair of the Joint Shared Services Consolidation Commission, the joint agency that helped bring the two municipalities together, was thrilled with the way the work has been done to bring neighborhoods together.
   The new map will officially be in place as of Dec. 23.