Public Meeting On County Vote Centers Set For July 22
July 6, 2021 at 10:47 p.m.
Public Meeting On County Vote Centers Set For July 22
By David [email protected]
She said there is a public meeting at 6 p.m. July 22 in the courtroom of the old county courthouse to allow public comments for the plan, whether that’s to suggest changes, offer support or remonstration for the initial plan.
“After that, they have until Aug. 19 to finalize their public comments and then it will go to the County Election Board for approval after any changes are made,” Torpy said.
According to information previously provided by Torpy, “The voter center concept gives any voter in Kosciusko County the opportunity to cast their ballot at any polling location throughout the county; no one is restricted to one polling location on Election Day. In addition to making it easier for voters on Election Day, the vote center concept also calls for increased early voting opportunities at what are called satellite vote centers that are open prior to Election Day.”
The use of electronic poll books also will assist in streamlining the election process. Voters will simply check with a poll worker by scanning in their ID or having a poll worker type in their name, with the days of looking through paper poll books a thing of the past, according to Torpy’s previous information.
On Tuesday, Torpy also requested permission from the Commissioners to purchase the coders for the county’s electronic poll books, which they unanimously approved. Torpy said the money is budgeted and comes out of the election budget.
“The coders attach to an iPad and program the vote cards for each voter as they sign in so when the poll worker goes to the voting machine, they place that vote card in the machine and it pulls up that specific voter’s ballot so they can go ahead and cast their vote,” she said, noting it will make voting “a lot easier,” especially in larger vote centers.
Torpy said the only aspect that is being changed is allowing voters in Kosciusko County to vote at any voting center in the county.
“We did decrease some of our polling locations, but they are very similar to what we used last year,” she said.
Later, local attorney Travis McConnell asked how many polling locations are being proposed to be closed. As of Tuesday, Torpy said only one is being proposed to be closed.
The draft of the county vote center plan includes a list of the vote center locations. Indiana code states a county is required to have one vote center per every 10,000 active voters. Kosciusko County has 49,604 active voters; 3,304 inactive voters for 52,908 current voters, according to information in the plan. Therefore, the county is required to have at least six vote centers open on Election Day. However, the County Election Board, along with the Vote Center Committee, recommended 21 vote center locations, according to the information previously provided. All voting sites are ADA compliant, allowing accessibility for individuals with disabilities and the elderly.
The early voting location is listed as the Justice Building.
Satellite early voting locations will be opened the final two Saturdays before Election Day. Hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. For the mid-term elections, it will be the North Webster Community Center. For presidential elections, it will be the NWCC and the Shrine Building in Warsaw. For city and town elections, vote centers will be based on need and an amendment will be filed by the Kosciusko County Election Board at that time.
In other business Tuesday, the Commissioners approved:
• The county’s 2022 holiday calendar, as well as the Commissioners’ meeting schedule, as presented by County Auditor Michelle Puckett. All of the Commissioners’ meetings will be held on Tuesday, except the Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, meeting will be moved to Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, because of the general election.
Later, when local attorney Travis McConnell asked if the holidays included Juneteenth since it’s now a federal holiday, Puckett said it does not.
“The holidays that the Commissioners have approved are not an all-inclusive list of federal holidays. The county does have two optional floating holidays that each employee is granted so that they can utilize those on other days that they feel” they want to, she said.
• For Emergency Management Director Ed Rock to submit a hazardous materials grant application for $15,000 for annual training and exercise for first responders. There is no match and it is a reimbursement grant.
• A resolution for the electronic meetings policy, which establishes the policy by which the Commissioners may participate in meetings by electronic means, as presented by county attorney Ed Ormsby. At the last Commissioners meeting, they agreed to lower the threshold of meetings that can be missed in person from 50 to 35%.
• The submission of a $10,000 Indiana Healthy Workforce grant application, as requested by County Administrator Marsha McSherry. It is an advanced grant for the county’s Health & Wellness Committee.
Darron Longnecker, from Creative Benefits Solutions, will be one of the health coaches if the county is awarded the grant. He said the $10,000 would be used to help county employees who have health conditions like diabetes and body mass indexes that are elevated.
• McSherry’s request to seek out a civil engineer to look at reconfiguring the parking lot at the Justice Building to make it more efficient and add parking space.
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She said there is a public meeting at 6 p.m. July 22 in the courtroom of the old county courthouse to allow public comments for the plan, whether that’s to suggest changes, offer support or remonstration for the initial plan.
“After that, they have until Aug. 19 to finalize their public comments and then it will go to the County Election Board for approval after any changes are made,” Torpy said.
According to information previously provided by Torpy, “The voter center concept gives any voter in Kosciusko County the opportunity to cast their ballot at any polling location throughout the county; no one is restricted to one polling location on Election Day. In addition to making it easier for voters on Election Day, the vote center concept also calls for increased early voting opportunities at what are called satellite vote centers that are open prior to Election Day.”
The use of electronic poll books also will assist in streamlining the election process. Voters will simply check with a poll worker by scanning in their ID or having a poll worker type in their name, with the days of looking through paper poll books a thing of the past, according to Torpy’s previous information.
On Tuesday, Torpy also requested permission from the Commissioners to purchase the coders for the county’s electronic poll books, which they unanimously approved. Torpy said the money is budgeted and comes out of the election budget.
“The coders attach to an iPad and program the vote cards for each voter as they sign in so when the poll worker goes to the voting machine, they place that vote card in the machine and it pulls up that specific voter’s ballot so they can go ahead and cast their vote,” she said, noting it will make voting “a lot easier,” especially in larger vote centers.
Torpy said the only aspect that is being changed is allowing voters in Kosciusko County to vote at any voting center in the county.
“We did decrease some of our polling locations, but they are very similar to what we used last year,” she said.
Later, local attorney Travis McConnell asked how many polling locations are being proposed to be closed. As of Tuesday, Torpy said only one is being proposed to be closed.
The draft of the county vote center plan includes a list of the vote center locations. Indiana code states a county is required to have one vote center per every 10,000 active voters. Kosciusko County has 49,604 active voters; 3,304 inactive voters for 52,908 current voters, according to information in the plan. Therefore, the county is required to have at least six vote centers open on Election Day. However, the County Election Board, along with the Vote Center Committee, recommended 21 vote center locations, according to the information previously provided. All voting sites are ADA compliant, allowing accessibility for individuals with disabilities and the elderly.
The early voting location is listed as the Justice Building.
Satellite early voting locations will be opened the final two Saturdays before Election Day. Hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. For the mid-term elections, it will be the North Webster Community Center. For presidential elections, it will be the NWCC and the Shrine Building in Warsaw. For city and town elections, vote centers will be based on need and an amendment will be filed by the Kosciusko County Election Board at that time.
In other business Tuesday, the Commissioners approved:
• The county’s 2022 holiday calendar, as well as the Commissioners’ meeting schedule, as presented by County Auditor Michelle Puckett. All of the Commissioners’ meetings will be held on Tuesday, except the Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, meeting will be moved to Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, because of the general election.
Later, when local attorney Travis McConnell asked if the holidays included Juneteenth since it’s now a federal holiday, Puckett said it does not.
“The holidays that the Commissioners have approved are not an all-inclusive list of federal holidays. The county does have two optional floating holidays that each employee is granted so that they can utilize those on other days that they feel” they want to, she said.
• For Emergency Management Director Ed Rock to submit a hazardous materials grant application for $15,000 for annual training and exercise for first responders. There is no match and it is a reimbursement grant.
• A resolution for the electronic meetings policy, which establishes the policy by which the Commissioners may participate in meetings by electronic means, as presented by county attorney Ed Ormsby. At the last Commissioners meeting, they agreed to lower the threshold of meetings that can be missed in person from 50 to 35%.
• The submission of a $10,000 Indiana Healthy Workforce grant application, as requested by County Administrator Marsha McSherry. It is an advanced grant for the county’s Health & Wellness Committee.
Darron Longnecker, from Creative Benefits Solutions, will be one of the health coaches if the county is awarded the grant. He said the $10,000 would be used to help county employees who have health conditions like diabetes and body mass indexes that are elevated.
• McSherry’s request to seek out a civil engineer to look at reconfiguring the parking lot at the Justice Building to make it more efficient and add parking space.
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