Locality

In election administration, a locality is a general term for a town, village, city, or similar local area within a larger election jurisdiction. It helps describe geographic units without assuming every state uses the same government structure. The exact legal meaning of a locality can still vary depending on the jurisdiction and context.

A city, town, or village can be described as a locality when it sits within a broader election jurisdiction such as a county. For example, election data may identify a voter’s locality alongside county and state information. The term is intentionally generic because local-government names and structures differ across the United States.

Not always. A locality describes a local geographic area, while an election jurisdiction is the area over which an authority has responsibility for administering elections. A locality may be inside a larger election jurisdiction, or in some systems it may itself have election responsibilities. The relationship depends on state and local government structure.