Questions and concerns were addressed during a public meeting Thursday evening to allow public comments on a plan to create vote centers in Kosciusko County.

"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,” Kosciusko County Clerk Ann Torpy previously told the Times-Union. “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.”

Thursday, Torpy said Kosciusko County is one of the last counties in the area to move to being a vote center county. During the fall, she said she received numerous calls asking why the county wasn’t a vote center county, like Elkhart County.

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, Torpy previously stated.

On July 6, Torpy also requested permission from the Kosciusko County 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.

Thursday, Torpy said she’s not sure how much money changing over to being a vote center county will save Kosciusko County. She will have more information about that in 2023.

"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.

Thursday, Torpy said the coders are programmed for a one-time use and then will have to be reprogrammed, so there is no worry about the coder being reused.

Torpy said the only aspect that is being changed is allowing voters in Kosciusko County to vote at any voting center in the county.

During Thursday’s forum, Kosciusko County GOP Chairman Mike Ragan raised two concerns. First, he asked if there would be enough parking places for voters. The sec ond concern was during the last election, he was called to Syracuse and there were people lined up out into the parking lot in order to vote.

Torpy said that the voters have an opportunity now to stay at the Syracuse Community Center or they can go to other polling locations to vote.

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. That means the county is required to have at least six vote centers open on Election Day. But the County Election Board, along with the Vote Center Committee, recommended 21 vote center locations. 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 North Webster Community Center 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.

On Thursday, Torpy said once the county is made into a vote center county, the current plan the board is using can be modified or amended at any time.

What little feedback the board received was positive. Torpy did bring up an email received about the vote center which stated the sender was “100% in favor” of moving the county to a vote center county. It makes it easier on poll workers and it’ll make it easier on voters who may have to drive across town to vote, the person commented.

The Vote Center Committee now has until Aug. 19 to finalize public comments and implement any changes before the plan goes before the County Election Board for approval, Torpy said.