Allen County election officials call shift to 53 vote centers a “tremendous success” despite software delays

Amy Scrogham, Allen County Director of Elections, told the Board of Commissioners on May 22 that moving the county from 276 precincts to 53 vote centers for the May 5 primary was largely positive. "Both election workers and voters felt the change was a tremendous success," she said, but added that the concentration of returns overwhelmed Microvote systems and slowed tabulation.

Scrogham said the authorized officials maintained a regulated and secure count; however, "final tallies were not announced by the election board until noon the day following the primary on May 5, rather than the usual and expected late-evening declarations." She told the board Microvote is working on fixes that may require software and hardware improvements and that she will return with solutions alongside a company representative. Commissioners Therese M. Brown, Richard E. Beck and Ronald W. Turpin voiced support for staff while expressing concern about inaccurate and defamatory social-media commentary. Turpin emphasized that "only sworn officials were present in the room during the entire counting process."