Jefferson County Clerk, residents react to order temporarily restoring county boundaries

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ky. (WAVE) - An audit in July sparked a statewide map change, resulting in hundreds of people along the Jefferson County border learning their properties were in the wrong county.

“I just don’t know why they decided to do it now,” said Lisa Cochran, who lives in the Willow Creek subdivision.

She’s paid taxes and voted in Oldham County ever since she moved in, but in August, she got a letter saying all of that would be switched to Jefferson.

“It’s exasperating, and it’s irritating and it’s frustrating,” Cochran said.

She wasn’t the only one. Over 200 properties in Oldham are switching to Jefferson, as well as a few dozen in Bullitt County.

“Fine, do it on the new subdivisions. Don’t do it on the ones that have been around for awhile,” Cochran said.

Cochran will get her wish, at least through the Nov. 3 election.

Thursday, Jefferson County Clerk David Yates announced that affected residents in Jefferson, Oldham, and Bullitt Counties will be able to vote within their original boundaries.

“This is not a forever fix, but it does get us through the elections, and it does give people the opportunity to be heard,” Yates said.

“At least we know, okay, they’re not rushing it so much,” said Cochran.

Past November, though, Yates says he plans to put together a work group of both leaders and residents to come up with a long term solution.

“Not just as it relates to voting, but maybe taxation issues, emergency management issues, school districts...all these things can go into play,” Yates said.

Yates added that he knows the situation can be confusing and frustrating, but he wants to assure residents that their votes count.

“We’re doing all this because it’s that important. We just did an audit of every household, registered household, inside Jefferson County. We did 587,000 houses, house by house, to make sure things are correct,” he said.

The agreement does not include Spencer, Shelby, Hardin or Henry Counties due to those clerks deciding not to sign off on it.