VIDALIA — Some Concordia Parish voters soon will receive a new voter ID card after several voting precincts were merged and renamed.

Concordia Parish Registrar of Voters Golda Ensminger said state law required several precincts with fewer than 300 voters had to be merged with similar precincts to help save costs.

“After the census and reapportinonment, you come up with all these little precincts that were taken from one district to another to make the numbers work, but they don’t have enough voters,” Ensminger said. “They either have to merge with a like district or be consolidated with another polling location.”

The cost-saving measures come, Ensminger said, from not needing voting commissioners and machines at precincts with so few voters.

“We were able to cut down from 25 precincts to 21 precincts, which means you are able to cut down on costs,” Ensminger said. “Of course, it’s going to be difficult for us here in the office and some people because these precincts have had the same names for years.”

All voters affected by the mergers and renaming of precincts — nearly 5,850 — will receive a new voter ID card, which will include a note at the bottom explaining the changes in the precincts, Ensminger said.

The following Concordia Parish precincts changed:

• Ferriday precinct 2-1 was renamed to precinct 4-4.

• Precinct 2-4, which was outside the town limits of Ferriday, was renamed to precinct 4-3.

• Vidalia precinct 3-3 was renamed to precinct 3-2.

• Precinct 4-3, which was the area east of Airport Road in Vidalia, was renamed to precinct 3-3.

• Vidalia precinct 4-4 was renamed to precinct 3-4.

• Precinct 4-6, which was in the Deerpark area, was renamed to precinct 5-7.

• Vidalia precincts 4-4A and 4-4B merged with precinct 3-2 and was renamed precinct 2-1.

• Precinct 5-2A, which was on U.S. 84 going toward Jonesville, was merged with precinct 4-2, but wasn’t renamed. Precinct 4-2 encompasses the areas of U.S. 84 from Airport Road to Cocodrie Bayou.

• Acme precinct 5-7 was merged with Eva precinct 5-6. This precinct merger caused the only polling location of all the changes, Ensminger said.

“The voters of precinct 5-7 were going to Monterey to vote before this, but they will go to Paul’s Grocery from now on,” Ensminger said. “This puts them a little closer to home to vote.”

Ensminger urged residents in the affected precincts to read the notice on their new voter ID cards carefully and call her office with any questions.

“Even though a lot of these precincts were merged or renamed, everyone will still vote at the same location other than the ones at 5-7,” she said. “Everyone that had a change will get a card and they should have those, if they haven’t gotten them already, by next week.”

Ensminger can be reached at the Concordia Register of Voters Office, which is located in the bottom floor of the courthouse, at 318-336-7770.