Thurston County to add new voting precincts in response to growing population

Excerpt from The JOLT News:

The Thurston County Auditor’s Office is set to increase the county’s voting precincts to 294 from 287 in response to sustained population growth and municipal annexations.  

The adjustments are outlined in the 2025 Precinct Maintenance Plan, which was detailed during the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) work session on Wednesday, Feb. 12. 

According to the officials, the proposed changes will affect approximately 5,235 registered voters. The changes are expected to be finalized after a public hearing on Tuesday, April 15. 

Under the proposed plan, county officials say seven precincts will be divided in compliance with the state-mandated 1,500-voter limit per precinct. 

The increasing number of voters in many areas, particularly Lacey and Yelm, has necessitated the division of multiple precincts to secure a more balanced electoral system. 

“This is an exercise that we do every year because of city annexations, but mainly because Thurston County is growing so much,” Auditor Mary Hall said. 

She added, “Currently, we have 287 precincts, but by the time we make these changes, we’re going to gain seven and a couple due to annexations.” 

Seven precincts will be split, with some areas creating entirely new voting districts. The changes aim to maintain the 1,500-voter cap, while improving the efficiency of election administration. 

The affected precincts include: 

• Forest will be split along 25th Avenue SE, creating Forest North (784 voters) and Forest South (623 voters). 
• McIntosh, which spans six jurisdictional divisions, will be reorganized into McIntosh East (756 voters) and McIntosh West (692 voters). 
• Sunwood Lakes, Beaver Creek, Lacey 24, Yelm 3 and Yelm 4 will also be divided to better distribute voter populations. 

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