Centers could cut costs

Jay County could save more than $20,000 on annual elections if typical precinct voting is abandoned in favor of vote centers.

Despite the savings, however, it's debatable to at least one local official whether the change is the best course of action for voters.

Implementing vote centers would reduce the number of voting locations (a minimum of two in Jay County), but would allow voters to cast ballots at any voting centers as opposed to only their home precinct.

"I think a lot of (people) think that if you get a vote center that it's going to be like the (Jay Community Center), that you're going to have five or six precincts," said Jay County Clerk Ellen Coats. "They think you're not going to have more machines but you'll have more machines and every machine will have every ballot in the county on it."

The change, which has been implemented on a trial basis in Tippecanoe, Wayne and Cass counties during the last two years, would greatly reduce cost for local governments to run elections.

The county spends $12,970 per election to operate its 21 precincts, paying wages and meals for 105 poll workers and rent for 13 locations, making a total of nearly $26,000 each year an election is held.

For every 10,000 registered voters, the government is required to provide at least one vote center. Jay County has 11,775 registered voters, which means at least two vote centers would be needed - likely located in Portland and Dunkirk.

The vote centers would also be linked electronically to the clerk's office data-base to guarantee that voters only get to cast one ballot, making the process secure.

By replacing the county's 21 precincts with two vote centers, the county could cut its election costs to $4,760, according to an estimate by Coats.

"I don't know how much you could drop (the cost) down but I'm sure it would be considerable," Coats said, estimating two vote centers for Jay County with 10 workers at each.

"I think it would save a lot of money, taxpayer's money," Coats said. "It's more convenient. I think it would improve the election's integrity because it's secure."

The move to vote centers in the state may garner more attention in future legislative sessions due to the financial crunch the state and the counties are looking at in the future.

"Tax dollars are not going to get a lot better," said State Rep. Bill Davis (R-Portland) of the state's financial situation. "Unless there's somebody out there that's willing to increase taxes, it's going to be all about efficiency as we go forward here.

"I'm certainly not opposed to the voting centers," he said. "I think the state is doing it right. They're doing some test pilots ... from what I can tell and what I've been able to understand, they've been pretty well accepted."

Although reducing the number of voting locations would save considerable money, there are concerns about whether the fewer venues would be an inconvenience to some voters.

In May, after complaints about usage of the Jay County Boy Scout facility in Jefferson Township, the Jay County Commissioners decided to move that precinct to the community center in Portland. The next week, however, representatives from the township pleaded their case to keep the location closer to home by moving it to the Jay County Conservation Club.

Jay County Commissioner president Milo Miller Jr. said there would likely be some opposition in the early years as people get used to the new system.

"It's hard to change people's thought," said commissioner's president Milo Miller Jr. "I think once it got put in and they got used to it the people wouldn't have a problem with vote centers."

The savings, Miller said, could be worth that initial unease.

"Everything's about saving money nowadays and you can't save money without change," he said.

Gerald Kirby, president of the Jay County Council, which manages the county's finances, was hesitant to support the idea despite the money it could save.

"My initial reaction is that's a big savings," he said. "But what price do you put on the vote? If you're requiring people to drive - say people from Pennville - to drive to Portland to Dunkirk or Redkey or wherever, you're going to lose people.

"I get up on the edge of my chair immediately when we start putting the price on a vote," Kirby said. "We need to cut expenses. We definitely need to cut expenses. ... I question whether it would be a smart move or a prudent move to try to save money by making it more difficult or inconvenient to vote."

Kirby said, however, that he would definitely be open now to looking at combining some smaller precincts, for example the two Redkey precincts, to cut costs.

But to go further to only two locations in the county, he said he would want to know that people who may not have the means to travel from their homes, would have other options to cast their vote.

"Unless something was worked up in conjunction with it that would make it easy for the disabled or at least handicapped when it comes to driving, where they could be voted in the house, mail-in ballots ..." Kirby said. "I would be reluctant to back something like that."

Davis agreed that accommodations for those types of voters in combination with early voting would strengthen a switch to vote centers.

"I would tell you that if we continue to make absentee voting easier, where ballots can actually be delivered to people who are inconvenienced ... I think Gerald makes a good point, there could be some situations where it could be an inconvenience," he said.[[In-content Ad]]