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Date: 11/16/2021
NORTHAMPTON – The Northampton City Council conducted a special meeting on Nov. 8 to unanimously vote in favor of the newly defined wards and precincts in the city of Northampton, including the specific language that comes with it.
Under Massachusetts General Law, cities and towns across the state must accept an updated map of the established precinct and ward boundaries based on what the federal census illustrates every 10 years. Based off the 2020 Census, both City Clerk Pamela Powers and city GIS Coordinator James Thompson established the most updated verbiage for the precinct and ward lines by working with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office.
In a city that saw a 3.6 percent increase in population between 2010 and 2020, the biggest changes in Northampton involved Wards 2, 6 and 7. Ward 2 shrunk geographically, while Wards 6 and 7 slightly grew due to specific population shifts and natural growth.
According to David Stevens, the chair of the city’s reprecincting committee, around 1,000 people were added to Northampton since the last census in 2010, which is something that needed to be accounted for in the new maps.
“We’re still going to have all of the same precincts voting in the same locations,” said Powers, during an Oct. 21 council meeting. “That’s great news because it saves us a lot of work.”
Powers said that some people may have to move to a different polling location, but also added that the city will continue to use Smith Vocational School for Wards 2A, 2B and 5B. Leeds Elementary, meanwhile, will be a polling location for Ward 7B, while JFK Middle School will be a location for Ward 7A. Other polling locations include, the Civic Center for Ward 5A, the Ryan Road School for 6A and 6B, the Jackson Street School for 1A and 1B, and the Senior Center for Wards 3 and 4 – both precincts.
“The wards and precincts will not change before Dec. 31,” said Powers, adding that the city must notify every person in Northampton about the precinct and ward changes between early spring or summer of 2022 to prepare for state elections at the end of that year.
The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office accepted the new ward and precinct lines that the city submitted prior to their Oct. 31 deadline, according to Powers. The special meeting was used to officially accept the specific ward and precinct language.