Porter County clerk outlines post-primary audit, turnout and election timeline

Jessie, the county clerk, said Porter County will conduct a voluntary post-primary audit on June 12 that organizers expect to run about five to six hours and to review roughly 500–1,000 ballots.

The clerk said the audit will begin at 11:00 a.m., use a seat-number workflow and an audit tool to generate the list of ballots to be pulled. About 12 volunteers organized into pairs were slated to assist; the event is open to the public, candidates and members of local government. "We're not doing it under any suspicion. We're doing it for transparency reasons," Jessie said.

At the meeting Jessie also reported preliminary turnout figures: about 2,425 early in-person votes and 349 absentee-by-mail ballots received, with roughly 347 absentee ballots still outstanding. Board members noted about 5,500 votes had been cast at polling locations to date; participants described that level as low but consistent for a primary.

Jessie told the board the office is aiming for a 99% confidence level with a 1% risk limit for the audit and noted Porter County previously completed a similar audit in 2019. She said some pre-primary reports were filed late (six in total), with three still not filed as of the meeting; the board said it will address those filings next month.

The clerk reviewed upcoming dates: early voting windows, inspector pickup on May 2, election day on May 5, certification at noon on May 15 at the election office, and the scheduled VSTOP audit on June 12 at 11:00 a.m. The clerk encouraged board members to attend credential signings ahead of election day and said press observation has occurred at previous audits.

The audit is described as an exercise to increase public confidence; the county plans to issue a press release inviting observers and candidates to attend. The audit and certification remain subject to the timelines and public-notice procedures described by the clerk.