ARE "VOTE CENTERS" COMING TO ST. JOSEPH COUNTY?
A PUBLIC FORUM
Where: Colfax Auditorium, St. Joseph County Library, 304 South Main Street, South Bend
When: Tuesday, April 17, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
In 2011, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation making vote centers an option for any Indiana county. A vote center is an election polling place where any eligible voter in the county may go to vote. A proposed plan for St. Joseph County would locate an estimated 25 centers throughout the county, replacing 185 precinct polling places. Voters would be allowed to vote at any one of the centers, regardless of precinct.
On Tuesday, April 17 you will have an opportunity to learn about how vote centers have been used in other Indiana counties, what is proposed for St. Joseph County, and the possible advantages and disadvantages of this change in our election process. Speakers will include Betty Doversberger, a member of the State Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of Indiana and the former Chancellor of Ivy Tech in Lafayette; Terri Rethlake, St. Joseph County Clerk and County Elections' Officer; and Robert E. Smith, Chairperson of the Michiana Voting Coalition and Chairman of the Board of the Martin Luther King Jr. Senior Men Club. You also will have an opportunity to express your opinions about local vote centers.
Sponsors of the event include the Community Forum for Economic Development, the League of Women Voters of the South Bend Area, the North Central Indiana Central Labor Council, and the Michiana Voting Coalition. This program is free and open to the public.