Voting Room Flag Placement Debated by Starke County Election Board

Posted on April 25, 2019
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI

One of the Starke County Election Board’s recent debates had to do with the placement of a flag in the early voting room. The board voted two-to-one last week to remove a large flag from its location in front of a window.

Board members Peg Brettin and Harrison Fields felt the board had previously come to the consensus that the flag should not be used as a window covering, but Clerk Bernadette Welter-Manuel argued that the flag could no longer be considered drapery, since film has been installed on the window.

Still, Brettin pressed Welter-Manuel to look into other options. “Isn’t there anything else that you can put up there?” Brettin asked. “I know we talked about shades before.”

Covering the window isn’t why it’s there,” Welter-Manuel replied. “It’s there because that’s where the nails are, and I’m kind of uncomfortable asking maintenance to put more holes in the wall.”

Brettin continued, “You just can’t put some paper across that?”

“The window’s covered!” Welter-Manuel stressed. “The window is covered. That’s not what the flag’s there for. The window is already covered. I bought film to put over the window.”

Brettin and Fields said they’d gotten complaints from the VFW and others, and they didn’t think the flag’s placement was appropriate. Fields suggested using one of the smaller flags that are typically displayed at precinct polling places on Election Day instead.

This isn’t the first time the Starke County Election Board has had a heated debate over a somewhat unusual concern related to early voting. A year ago, board members spent several minutes debating whether a poll worker could work on needlepoint while waiting for potential voters.