Vote centers could save counties money, report says

Maribeth Holtz, Chronicle-Tribune

Thousands of dollars could be saved annually if Grant County had voting centers, a report indicates.

Local officials say they see the benefits of them, but have reservations about having a few large voting locations instead of many precinct locations.

Currently, three counties are using vote centers under a state pilot program, where voters can cast a ballot at any county voting location instead of just in their neighborhood precinct.

Vote centers would accommodate many voters, but there would be only a handful of them. Under the pilot program, counties have at least one center for every 10,000 active voters.

A report by the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute says all 92 Indiana counties could save money on election costs if they switch to vote centers, and implementation of vote centers would significantly reduce the number of voting machines necessary for elections.

Grant County, for example, would save an estimated $47,884 annually on personnel, transportation, print and machines. According to the report, the county pays $102,200 on precinct-based elections, while vote center-based elections would cost $54,316.

“The vote center concept is a good idea,” said Mark Florence, Grant County clerk. “It’d be beneficial to Grant County to do it, but it’s still a pilot program.”

The pilot program is set to expire at the end of this year, and the General Assembly is considering legislation that would extend the programs. Secretary of State Todd Rokita has said that any county that wants to use vote centers should be allowed to do so, but legislative proposals to expand the pilot program have stalled in recent years.

Florence said he would be hesitant to start vote centers here until he knows it’s beyond a pilot program.

“It would be one of the things we’d want to consider,” Florence said. “I’d still have some concerns of starting this kind of pilot project and then reverting back to the way it is now.”

Florence said it would cost thousands to start the program because they would have to make sure centers are compliant, and electronic poll books are bought. So reverting back to precinct-style voting would mean a loss of the dollars it took to start vote centers.

With county money tight, Florence said it’s hard to consider the program now, even though members of the Grant County Council and board of commissioners have shown interest in it.

Carolyn Mowery, deputy clerk and member of the county election board, said vote centers would be beneficial to many because they would be more convenient. Still, she said people who live in rural parts of the county may have a hard time getting to the polls. If they can’t easily get a ride to a center, they may not vote.

Mowery and Bonnie Cartwright, assistant election administrator, said that starting vote centers in Grant County now might be risky until they know for sure whether the pilot program is here to stay.

Ann Willey, Democratic member of the election board, echoed those concerns, and said she also wonders if vote centers would make it harder to track who has voted.

Still, she thinks it’s something that needs to be studied more.

“Not enough is known yet to form a definite opinion,” Willey said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.