Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
From April 1-5, the Kosciusko County Clerk's office will be closed to the public.
"That will be so we can move, physically move, from this building to the new building and get everything organized so we're ready to work," Kosciusko County Clerk Sharon Christner said today. "The judges have requested that we do take in emergency filings only - so if someone would have a protective order, then we would be able to take those in. Anything that's emergency type."
Since the clerk's office computers will not be up during that week, the office will not be able to handle such items as marriage licenses. Christner also said she doesn't know when the telephones will be hooked up in the new clerk's office after March 28, so people may want to stop in after April 8 instead of calling.
As for voter registration, she said, since the first week of April is the last week before the deadline (April 8) to register, "there will be cards over at the information desk in the courthouse. People can go in there to register, change their address or names or whatever."
The information desk in the courthouse is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
While the clerk's office will be closed to the public during that week, county employees in the clerk's office will be working.
"We'll be working in here to get our stuff organized. We're getting a new filing system, so it's going to be putting all the files into that," she said. "So bear with us. It may take us a while, but we'll get through them."
This year's election also will feature new district lines.
"The redistricting is involving, as far as actual precinct line changes, we've added Plain 5 and city of Warsaw 3-3. So the lines for 3-2, 3-3 and Plain 3-4, 3-5 changed.
"Unless parts of a township were annexed into a city, there were no changes. I think there was for Wayne 1. ... So only if a town was annexed in were their lines changed," she said.
The biggest changes were in the districts from the state and federal levels, and the Kosciusko County commissioners' districts changed quite a bit, according to Christner.
Letters were mailed regarding the changes in voting districts. Soon, voter identification cards will be mailed out.
Christner said, "If they do not get either/or the letter and the voter I.D. card, they need to contact our office to find out what address we have. Or, if they know they have moved and have not changed their address, they need to get it done before April 8 - that's the cutoff for registering for the primary."
People can register to vote at the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles when they change their address or name and get new driver's licenses. The BMV will then forward the voter registration to the clerk's office.
"Even the BMV has some (voter registration) cards to send in. If you send it in, you run the risk that it's not going to get to us in time, so it would be better ... just to bring it in to the information desk. We will have a sign out on the door they can do it at the information desk," Christner said.
As for polling places for the election, "we don't know that yet," she said. "We won't know until two weeks before the election. Just watch the newspaper for the polling places. If they don't see it, if they don't get the newspaper, feel free to call our office."
When the clerk's office reopens April 8, the door to the new part of the Justice Building is expected to be opened for public use.
