(La Porte, IN) - A mobile voting unit in La Porte County is being returned to the authority of local election officials.

 

La Porte County Commission President Sheila Matias made the decision which still requires a formal vote by her and her colleagues.

 

In a split vote on August 7, the commissioners seized control of the van from the La Porte County Election Board. Republican Rich Mrozinski and Democrat Sheila Matias voted to have the Commissioners be the controlling entity of the van, while Republican Joe Haney objected.

 

Matias said she would entertain a motion to return control of the van to the election board when the three-member commission meets again on Wednesday. However, Matias wants to avoid spending tax dollars on a legal fight threatened by La Porte County Clerk Heather Stevens over control of the van.

 

Stevens is one of three members on the election board.

 

“Stevens wants control? She’s got it,” Matias said.

Matias says that she and Commissioner Rich Mrozinski raised the issue to motivate election officials to put the van into service. They expressed frustration that the van had not been used to register voters or provide access to absentee voter applications during the election season. The deadline to register to vote is October 11.

 

“The clerk has heard us loud and clear, which was our goal. I now ask the clerk to do what is right and get that van rolling to festivals, events, and high school parking lots,” Matias said.

The van purchased by the commissioners last year for $67,000 with a grant from a non-profit organization can also be used for early voting if the county wants to use it that way.

 

Stevens said the van was put into service for the May primary but admitted that it could be used more frequently. Stevens was prepared to seek a court order to have the van returned to the authority of the election board, claiming it was illegal for the commissioners to assume control of it.

 

Stevens feared that the commissioners, being elected and in charge of the van, would raise questions about election integrity, especially with Matias up for reelection this year.

 

“They overstepped their authority here. The election board runs the elections, and the clerk is your main election officer in every county,” Stevens said.

Commissioner Joe Haney said he supported Matias’ decision despite questioning her motive.  

 

“I think they know they did it illegally. They don’t have the authority to do it. That’s why they’re backing down. They knew a lawsuit was on the horizon,” Haney said,

Mrozinski said he’s also in favor of relinquishing control of it even though no laws were broken since the commissioners have title to the van.

 

“It’s our van. We’ll do what we want with it,” Mrozinski said.