In 1972, the City Council of Ames, Iowa, divided the city into precincts to comply with new legislative district lines drawn by the Iowa Supreme Court. In doing so, they inadvertently created one precinct that had no residents in it — only pigs. That’s because the area was entirely occupied by the 15-acre Experimental Animal Disease Laboratory. Election officials blamed a quirk in the district’s zoning map, but the precinct remains today. As with most unusual stories, there’s an up side. Politicians are saving money, because there’s no need for campaigning or voter registration drives in the pig precinct.
