The Putnam County Commission approved an order at its August 26th meeting which will result in changes to the county’s magisterial districts and to certain precincts and polling place locations. Magisterial district boundaries determine the eligibility of a resident to serve on the county commission and on the school board. The order could also affect the eligibility of registered Republicans and Democrats who seek to serve on their party’s executive committees. The precinct make up of Executive Committee districts and Magisterial districts will be identical. Executive Committee elections will be held in conjunction with the 2026 May Primary. Two males and two females from each political party will be elected in the county’s three districts.

County Clerk Brian Wood stated that need to redraw the county’s magisterial district bounds stemmed from the City of Hurricane’s request to have its elections piggyback with the county’s. Through annexations, Hurricane’s corporate limits have grown to extend beyond a single magisterial district. The order to change magisterial district boundaries will ensure that all of Hurricane is within a single district.

The new magisterial districts will look a lot like the current House of Delegates districts. “We have mirrored our delegate districts to make up our magisterial districts,” Wood said. The mirroring will reduce the number of ballot designs that Wood needs to produce due to precinct composition likeness of magisterial and delegate districts.

Magisterial District I shall include Precinct Numbers 1, 2, 4, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 28, 30, 34, 37, 38, 40 and 47; Magisterial District II shall include Precinct Numbers 3, 11, 12, 25-1, 25-2, 26-1, 26-2, 27, 29-1, 29-2, 41, 43 and 44; and Magisterial District III shall include Precinct Numbers 5, 6-1, 6-2, 7, 8, 9, 10-1, 10-2, 24, 31, 32, 33-1, 33-2, 42 and 45.

Wood said that some voters will see a polling place change. Some Heizer Creek residents will now vote at Poca Middle School and Thomas’s Grocery Store area voters will vote at Poca High School. Voters who formerly cast ballots at Bush’s Store will now vote at the Route 34 Fire Station. Wood said the Bush’s Store polling place was not ADA compliant.

A map of the new Magisterial Districts can be found on Page 5.

In other business, the commission voted to accept a low bid of $18,454.11 from Char-Ann Equipment Company for the industrial washing machine and dryer project for the Putnam County Animal Shelter, pending a review of bid documents.

The commission also accepted a grant of $27,332 to be used to fund a special domestic violence investigator for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department.

The commission read and issued proclamations declaring August 31st to be Overdose Awareness Day in Putnam County and the month of September to be “Putnam County Goes Purple National Recovery Month.”

The Putnam County Commission’s next meeting will be September 9th at 9:00 a.m.