State-Ordered Redistricting Forces January Election for All Norwood Town Meeting Members-October 15, 1971

Town officials announced last night that a state-ordered redistricting mandate will likely require all of Norwood’s more than 200 town meeting representatives to face election in January, breaking with the traditional staggered system where only one-third of the seats come up for re-election each year.

Furthermore, shifting local demographics and town population growth will expand the size of the town meeting body from 202 to 220 representatives.

Reconciling Imbalanced Districts

Meeting with the town clerk and town counsel, selectmen directed a three-man subcommittee of the district boundaries study committee to draft an immediate proposal realigning the town’s nine districts and six precincts.

Subcommittee member Loftin E. Elvey noted that existing district boundaries have grown “terribly unbalanced” over the past five years—the last time a general election for representatives was held. Some districts currently contain twice the number of registered voters as others, resulting in some districts electing nearly 30 representatives while others elect far fewer.

Under town bylaws, no single district is permitted to elect more than 30 representatives. Because population shifts necessitate expanding or shrinking district boundaries to achieve equal voter representation, town bylaws mandate a general election of all town meeting members whenever districts are altered in size.

Tight Deadlines and State Hurdles

Town officials are operating under immense pressure to finalize the plan. Town Counsel Walter A. Gotovich explained that the Massachusetts legislature recently passed a state emergency act giving towns until the end of October to alter their precinct lines to coincide with new district lines based on registered voters.

Earlier in July, the state had refused to allow towns to alter precinct lines ahead of state reapportionment. Without the new emergency legislation, towns faced the cumbersome prospect of voters casting ballots in two separate places—one precinct for state elections and another for local town meeting elections—because certain districts spanned across multiple precincts.

While the total number of nine districts and six precincts will remain unchanged, their internal boundaries and sizes will be adjusted to equalize voter numbers. Officials noted that although some residents may experience changes to their designated polling locations, no voter will be forced to vote across precinct lines.

The district boundaries subcommittee is scheduled to present its formal realignment recommendation to the Board of Selectmen on Monday or Tuesday.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger