(La Porte County, IN) - La Porte County will be making the switch from precinct voting to vote centers.

               

The La Porte County Commissioners Wednesday unanimously granted final approval to the proposal, which was also previously supported by all members of the La Porte County Council and La Porte County Election Board.

 

La Porte County Clerk Heather Stevens said switching from precinct voting would be more convenient, by allowing residents to vote at any polling location in the county.

 

One of the driving ideas behind voting centers is increasing voter turnout. For example, Stevens said people returning home from their jobs on Election Day are often pressed for time to reach a polling location to vote in the precinct in which they live before it closes.

 

Under a voting center format, she noted, registered voters would be able to stop at the first polling place in La Porte County they pass after work, which could be up to 30 miles or more from where they reside. Stevens also spoke of how money would also be saved from having fewer polling locations to staff.

 

Initially, her plan calls for the number of voting sites to go from 52 to 38.

 

Commissioner Rich Mrozinski applauded the change, which had been discussed for years before all of the local decision makers came on board with the idea.

 

“I say it’s about time,” he said.