Poll workers with Brownstown 1 and Brownstown 2 precincts prepare voters to cast their ballots on Nov. 3, 2020, inside the Jackson County Courthouse in Brownstown.
Tribune file photo
The next step in the process to centralize voting in Jackson County by establishing vote centers in Brownstown, Crothersville, Freetown, Medora and Seymour has been put in place.
At 6 p.m. Nov. 8, the Jackson County Election Board plans to hold a public hearing at the Jackson County Judicial Center at 109 S. Sugar St. in Brownstown.
The hearing is for anyone who wishes to ask questions or submit comments about the vote center plan the election board put together in recent months. That plan, required by the state, came about after county commissioners and the county council approved resolutions designating Jackson County a vote center county in late spring.
While vote center counties may save money by consolidating voting in central locations — leading to fewer machines and lower staffing needs, vote centers also are designed to be more convenient and provide greater accessibility for voters, according to the Indiana Secretary of State’s website.
A vote center allows eligible voters to cast ballots at any vote center in the county instead of voting at a designated polling place as has been the case in the past.
During the 2020 presidential election, Jackson County had 20 polling locations for 30 precincts. Under the vote center plan there would be six voter centers — one each in Brownstown, Crothersville, Freetown and Medora and two in Seymour.
In Indiana, 46 of the state’s 92 counties have vote centers. Of the counties that border Jackson County, Lawrence and Bartholomew have adopted vote centers.
The vote center plan can be found and reviewed at the Jackson County Public Library locations in Crothersville, Medora and Seymour and at Brownstown Public Library. The public also may visit the voter registration office in the judicial center to review the plan.
To request a plan by email, contact Voter Registration Clerk Andrea Edwards at [email protected]. There also will be a link on the clerk’s page on jacksoncounty.in.gov. Edwards or county Clerk Melissa Hayes at [email protected] also can help answer any questions.
The 30-day public comment period for the plan started today and those comments can be submitted to Hayes or Edwards.