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During an atypical Thursday meeting of the LaGrange City Council, the council voted to approve recommended polling place changes from Troup County Elections Board. The board recommended the changes to accommodate a request to move polling places out of schools by the Troup County School System.

TCSS has long asked that voting be moved out of schools but has recently been more insistent after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

City Manager Meg Kelsey said the city has worked diligently for several months with the county to come up with the best plan to move the elections out of the schools.

Only two proposed changes would affect LaGrange.

The first proposed change in LaGrange would combine the Hollis Hand and Northside precincts, which have voted in Hollis Hand Elementary and Hope Academy. Both precincts would now vote at First United Methodist Church.

The second change would be the closure of the Highland precinct, which votes at Troup High. If approved, Highland voters would be rolled into the Griggs Center precinct.

Both changes will come up for final approval by the Board of Elections & Registration on July 20.

The council also approved the 2023 General Election calendar of events.

Three council seats will be up for election in November, including District 2 seats currently held by Leon Childs and Quay Boddie and a District 1 seat held by Mark Mitchell. Qualifying for the election will begin on Aug. 21 at 8:30 a.m. and end on Aug. 25 at 4:30 p.m. Write-in candidate qualifying will end on Sept. 1.

Voter registration for the November election will end on Oct. 9.

Election Day is set for Tuesday, Nov. 7. If needed, a run-off will be held on Dec. 5.