Monroe County commissioners and election officials on June 5 described a plan to relocate election operations to the east side of the first floor of the Showers Building and discussed possible expansion of early‑voting sites around the county.

Commissioner Julie Thomas introduced the facilities update and asked Richard Kreider, Monroe County fleet and facilities manager, to outline plans. Kreider told the board the county began programming work in January with an architect and increased the originally planned square footage; he said the project is on a timeline to finish construction in December 2025.

Board members and commissioners discussed whether to run multiple early‑voting sites during the early‑voting period rather than a single, longer early‑voting window at one site. County staff said most county facilities are downtown and that additional early‑voting sites would likely require use of community spaces — for example, churches or public libraries — and that site selection should avoid locations used as Election Day polling places to prevent voter confusion.

Staff emphasized the operational constraint that equipment used for early voting must be secured overnight. An elections staff member noted libraries could work if they offer a lockable, sectioned room and on‑site security. The Southwest Library branch and the convention center were mentioned as low‑cost or secure options that had worked in the past; Ellettsville was raised as a community that previously requested its own early‑voting location.

The meeting included a brief history of prior efforts to provide multiple early‑voting sites: previous attempts using mobile trailers and rotating sites received negative feedback or were not cost‑feasible, and commissioners had evaluated quadrant or third‑county approaches but found them impractical in earlier discussions.

No formal decisions were made at the June 5 meeting; county staff said planning will continue and confirmed that moving equipment from an off‑site storage facility into county space (the Showers Building) was completed, removing a privately leased storage contract previously in place.