(La Porte, IN) - The LaPorte County Council is expected to consider switching from precinct-based voting to voting centers at its meeting on Monday.

 

The proposal, unanimously approved by the LaPorte County Election Board on June 16th, also requires approval from both the county council and the county commissioners.

 

LaPorte County Clerk Heather Stevens said her plan for switching to vote centers would reduce the number of polling locations countywide from 52 to 38. However, she noted that voters from LaPorte County would be able to cast ballots at any location here and not just the precinct in which they reside.  One of the ideas behind voting centers, which are now in place in most Indiana counties, is to increase voter turnout by making it more convenient to cast ballots.

 

For example, Stevens illustrated, a person running behind schedule polls about to close can go to the nearest voting center to cast a ballot, instead of running the risk of getting to their precinct location on time. She said convenience is important, especially in LaPorte County, which is the largest by square miles in the state.

 

“I feel it’ll increase turnout by having more convenient locations for a county our size,” she said.

 

Stevens said another benefit of switching from precinct voting would be saving money from not having to hire as many election workers since there would be fewer polling locations.  

 

Under her plan, the reduction in polling locations is mostly in Michigan City and LaPorte. The number of polling locations in the unincorporated areas is about the same to avoid people having to drive much longer distances, in some cases, to vote. Stevens said additional polling locations in lightly populated areas could be eliminated in the future, though, if they were drawing just a handful of voters from residents using other locations closer to their workplaces or wherever they happen to be when they wanted to cast a ballot.

 

“I’m sure we’re going to have to tweak a few things.  That’s fine, but this is definitely a good start,” she said.

 

LaPorte County Council President Mike Rosenbaum said he fully supports vote centers but is concerned about having enough poll workers to handle a potential increase in voters from switching to fewer, but more convenient locations.

 

“I caution there should be enough staffing for the increase in potential voters to each site,” he said.

 

Councilman Mark Yagelski said he’s leaning toward supporting the move primarily because of voter convenience. Yagelski has doubts, though, if voter centers will produce a higher turnout.

 

“I know everything sounds good.  I hope it works and we get more people to vote but, so far, everything we’ve put in has not,” he said.

 

Stevens said she plans to seek approval from the county commissioners sometime in August.