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County officials review vote-center footprint and election-year costs
Summary
Clerk's office presented a detailed breakdown of costs for 22 vote centers and proposed shortening primary early-voting from two weeks to one week to lower expenses; councilors asked staff to explore right‑sizing locations and the timeline required by state rules to change centers.
President Schettler reopened the budget hearing and the clerk's office walked the Vanderburgh County Council through the elections budget, including the county's network of vote centers and early‑voting schedules. Clerk staff said the county currently budgets for 22 vote centers and is examining options to reduce costs in lower‑turnout primaries.
The clerk, identified in the hearing transcript as Dottie, said “There's 22,” when asked how many vote centers the county now plans for. She told the council the county had been allowed by the state to reduce early‑voting in primaries and “we're gonna do 1 week next year in the primary,” rather than two weeks, as a cost‑saving measure.
Why it matters: County officials said running vote centers is one of the elections budget's largest recurring local costs and that any change in the primary schedule or center count affects both expense and statutory notice or public‑comment obligations. Council members pressed staff for data on turnout and per‑voter cost before making changes.
Key details and council questions - Cost per center: Dottie and councilors cited about $2,200 to run a single vote center for a primary; if a center runs both primary and general services for the year that figure was discussed as roughly $4,500 (figures presented in hearing materials and staff remarks). Those dollar figures were stated on the record as the clerk explained line items for rent, staffing and supplies. - Early voting: The clerk said state rules permit a shorter early‑voting window for primaries in non‑presidential years; staff proposed one week for next year’s primary to reflect expected turnout and reduce expenses. - Statutory constraints and timeline: Councilors and clerk staff noted state rules and a county process for removing a vote center likely require advance public comment; the clerk said she would check the statutory timeline and bring a recommended schedule back to the board.
Council direction and follow up Council members asked the clerk to analyze historical turnout by center and the statutory timeline required to remove or relocate centers, and to bring a recommendation before the election board and the council. The clerk said the election board is “looking” at the options and that any change would require a public process.
Ending Councilors did not adopt any formal change during the hearing; they asked staff to return with data (center‑level turnout, cost per voter and required public‑notice steps) and a proposed timeline to consider reducing or consolidating vote centers for the next primary cycle.
