Galloway's Redistricting Map Came After Two County Maps Were Incorrect, Tilton Says

Galloway Township never received an official redistricting map from the Atlantic County Board of Elections, Lisa Tilton said Wendesday night.

As of Election Day, the county had not provided an official redistricting map to the township, which was necessary to inform voters as to where they should go to vote in the recent primaries, according to Tilton.

After the board certified two maps that were incorrect, it became clear that the county’s firm would not be providing a redistricting map in time to inform the voters of Galloway Township, Tilton said. The change affected 6,500 voters, and the township went ahead with their own map, drawn up by Dixon Engineering, according to Tilton.

The redistricting map was provided to media outlets, including Galloway Patch. After the map was posted on Patch’s website, Tilton contacted Local Editor Anthony Bellano asking him to clarify that the map was unofficial. On Wednesday night, Tilton said she requested the change after the county had sent out a letter asking her to do so.

Tilton is the township clerk in Galloway Township, but hasn’t been to work in over a week because of personal reasons. Carol Hackney is currently the acting township clerk.

According to Tilton, the county informed Galloway Township of the redistricting in January, saying it was to be completed in 45 days.  Gallloway and Margate are the only two towns in the county forced to redistrict this year, while the rest of the county will redistrict next year, Tilton said.

“In 2006, the municipalities used their own maps for redistricting,” Tilton said. “Dixon did ours and it was certified by the county.”

The map used in 2006 was updated for this year’s redistricting. The county told all municipalities it would handle the redistricting maps.

“We are required to have a map of each polling location, and the county wasn’t going to notify the voters of the changes,” Tilton said. “We still have not received a map.”