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Name :   Robert Kibrick
Organization :   N/A
Post Date :   9/27/2005

Glossary Comments
Glossary Term :  Polling Place and Precinct
Definition :  
Comment :  Polling Place: Facility that is staffed by poll workers and equipped with voting equipment, to which voters from a given precinct come to cast in-person ballots. See also voting station.
Association: voting
Source: VSS, IEEE 1583

Precinct: Administrative division representing a geographic area in which voters cast ballots at the same polling place. Voters casting absentee ballots may also be combined into one or more administrative absentee precincts for purposes of tabulating and reporting votes. Generally, voters in a polling place precinct are eligible to vote in a general election using the same ballot format. In some jurisdictions, however, the ballot formats may be different due to split precincts or required ballot rotations within the precinct.  
Association: voting
Source: VSS, IEEE 1583  

The above two terms, “polling place” and “precinct” are often confused, and the above definitions don’t do enough to resolve that confusion, especially with regard to polling places that serve more than one precinct. To further muddy the waters, not all States use the term precinct, but instead have similar divisions such as townships.