Starke County Election Board Discusses Public Release of Draft Vote Center Plan

Posted on November 21, 2019
Author Anita Goodan, WKVI

The Starke County Election Board members Wednesday morning discussed their initial thoughts since the rollout of the draft Vote Center plan during the joint meeting of the Starke County Council and Commissioners on Monday, Nov. 18.

A move to a Vote Center would create only seven locations for voters in Starke County to cast a ballot.  Under the proposed plan, a voter can cast a ballot at any of the seven locations.  Currently, voters are locked into their individual precinct to vote.

Two satellite voting locations are included in the draft plan for early voting for six days prior to Election Day and that schedule could be extended, based upon conversations during the board’s meeting on Wednesday morning.

Several written comment cards were read into the record, as well as two verbal comments from registered voters during the meeting, and all comments pointed toward the desire to move forward with a Vote Center plan and become a Vote Center county.  With the move, it is anticipated to save the county money, and reduce wait time at the polling site.

However, Board Member Harrison Fields still is unsure about the movement toward a Vote Center at this time.

“Why, why in the world really do we want to do this next year in a major Presidential Election?  I don’t think so!  Think about it,” commented Fields.

He added that he has several questions about the plan before he feels it’s appropriate to deliver his opinion on it.  When prompted by Proxy Martin Bedrock, Fields asked about specific parking spots at each Vote Center and whether connectivity issues will be resolved prior to Election Day with the required use of ePollbooks if the county moves to Vote Centers.

In response to Fields’ concerns, Clerk Bernadette Welter-Manuel stated that the number of ADA accessible parking spots at each proposed location was recorded and meets the requirements.  Fields wanted to know if the total available number of parking spots had to be included in the statistics.  Welter-Manuel said that is not required.  It was indicated that isn’t a current requirement.

If any registered voter would like to comment on the proposed Vote Center plan, submit a comment in writing on a form available in the Starke County Clerk’s Office in the Starke County Courthouse.  A copy of the draft plan is also available there.