MATTAPOISETT — The Mattapoisett Select Board approved a plan to divide the town into two voting precincts at a Dec. 12 meeting.

The move follows new 2020 census data that showed Mattapoisett’s population rising above the threshold at which a second precinct is required.

Despite the extra precinct, all town voters will still use the same polling location at Old Hammondtown School, however, there will be separate sign-in areas and two voting machines, instead of one.

The line dividing the two precincts runs mostly along North Street, from the north end of town to its intersection with Route 6. It then runs east-to-west along Route 6 until the Railroad Avenue intersection where it veers south, leaving Mattapoisett village mostly intact in the eastern precinct.

A map of the precincts appears at the top of this article and a high-resolution pdf is attached for closer inspection.

The map must now be approved by the state before it can take effect.

The state requires that the two voting precincts contain about the same number of people, with only a 5% variance allowed, according to Town Administrator Mike Lorenco. The proposed western precinct would contain 3,332 people and the eastern would have 3,176, a variance of 2.4%, according to the map. 

The state reevaluates the number of precincts that each town has to provide after each 10-year census. Mattapoisett was previously divided into two precincts between 2000 and 2010 before narrowly qualifying for a single precinct after the 2010 census.

Mattapoisett grew by 463 residents between the 2010 and 2020 census, rising from 6,045 to 6,508 residents.