County And State Levels Had No Official Record Of Monterey Voting Wards

A lack of documentation at both state and county levels led to asking Monterey to adopt its official voting district lines Monday night.

Those lines had appeared on paper maps long used by the Election’s Office. The lines disappeared when the county moved to digital maps. Administrator Michele Honeycutt discovered the issue when reviewing maps last summer.

“We used to get paper maps of all the city and all the county from 911, and we would get them at least twice a year,” Honeycutt said. “Anything new we would add to our system. Anything that wasn’t there before we would remove. That’s where the paper came from. It was nothing official from Monterey.”

The Election Office has used a paper map for the town’s boundaries for at least since 1998. Honeycutt said Monterey has not submitted an official drawing until now.

“No one knew anything about the ward lines,” Honeycutt said. “They contacted GIS with the state, and their office knew nothing about the ward lines, so 911 asked me to do it and I can’t do that. The attorney in Nashville said no I am not allowed to do that. It has to come from the Aldermen.”

Honeycutt said the official boundaries now need to be verified with the state. Honeycutt said the Election Commission will review the lines to make sure addresses are in the correct ward so papers can be picked up for the August election

“I have to get it verified from the state that this is enough, and I believe it is,” Honeycutt said. “But then we’ll go through and look at the boundaries and make sure our roads are in the correct ward.”