Published: February 01, 2008 01:57 pm      

Voting center bill moves to House; county clerks say it’s the way to go

Multiple-precinct vote centers may be considered by the Indiana House of Representatives during the coming weeks.

The idea — long pushed by Secretary of State Todd Rokita — would put county precincts in one central location. The Indiana Senate passed legislation authorizing the reform earlier this week by a 45-3 vote. It now heads to the Indiana House.

If the bill passes, counties would be able to decrease the overall number of polling places and offer the option of voting at the location most convenient for individuals. Someone who lives in New Washington and works in Jeffersonville, for example, would be able to vote at a Jeffersonville voting center.

There would be multiple centers in each county and they would be placed in high-traffic locations such as libraries and public office buildings. Electronic poll books — connected by a secure line to the county election board office — would be updated in real time and enable election officials to ensure each person votes only once.

Advocates argue that the change would reduce the number of voting systems and election workers and eliminate costly printing and storage of poll books.

However, local representatives are still undecided on how they will vote if the issue comes before the full House.

Poll workers are getting hard to come by and centers would ease that problem by allowing precincts to share, said Rep. Bill Cochran, D- New Albany.

“That’s the only benefit I can see.”

The drawback is that it takes people out of their area to vote.

“It limits (voting) somewhat,” he said. “Some people still walk to the polls.”

Cochran said he hasn’t had a chance to look at the actual bill yet.

“I’ll take a look at it, see what we can do,” he said.

Rep. Steve Stemler, D- Jeffersonville, said he, too, will have to look at the fine print before making a decision on the proposal. However, he said he’d look on it favorably if it increases access to polling places and makes elections more cost effective.

The legislation being considered allows local county election boards to decide whether to have vote centers, leaving the individual communities to decide whether to implement them.

Election officials in Clark and Floyd counties are in favor of trying it.

“I think it’s worth looking into and seriously considering it,” Floyd County Clerk Linda Moeller said.

She noted that two Indiana counties — Tippecanoe and Wayne — have done pilot programs using vote centers and said that voter turnout is up and election costs were down.

Clark County Clerk Barbara Bratcher-Haas has a similar view on the proposal.

“I think for Clark County it’s a good idea. I think we have too many precincts here,” she said.

“Any time you can have less of something and streamline it, you’re going to be better off.”

The vote center legislation is sponsored by Sen. Sue Landske, R-Cedar Lake.

“The legislation provides an option for counties to adopt vote centers and tailor them to their own individual needs,” Landske said in a press release issued earlier this week. “We have had very good discussions about vote centers and I believe they will save counties a considerable amount of money if they adopt it.”

Rokita believes voting has not kept up with lifestyle changes.

“Our election process has remained the same for more than 100 years, yet our lifestyles have changed significantly,” Rokita said in the release.

“Vote centers mean voting the way we live today and no longer worrying about finding the right precinct because any center in the county will work.”