Jackson County Commissioners approved the polling locations for this year’s primary election during their meeting Tuesday morning.

That election, slated for May 3, will be the first to use vote centers since Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan accepted the county’s vote center plan Dec. 21 of this past year. At that time, Sullivan said the move to vote centers can reduce costs for counties, increase turnout, provide local election officials more flexibility and improve overall convenience for voters.

Jackson County voters may visit any vote center that day to cast a ballot. In previous elections, voters had to vote at one of 20 designated polling sites containing the county’s 30 precincts.

Seven vote centers will be available for the primary. Three will be in Seymour, and one vote center will be located in Brownstown, Medora, Freetown and Crothersville.

In Seymour, voters can go to the Jackson County Learning Center, 323 Dupont Drive, Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108, 1752 First Ave. at Freeman Field, and Calvary Baptist Church, 1202 N. Ewing St.

The rest will be at the enclosed shelter house at Brownstown Park, 715 W. Bridge St., Brownstown; Medora Christian Church, 76 George St., Medora; Freetown Community Center, 6798 N. Union St., Freetown; and Crothersville Baptist Church, 305 E. Howard St., Crothersville.

Three vote centers will be available for early voting. In the past, there has been just two early voting locations.

This year, the early vote centers at the Jackson County Learning Center and Brownstown enclosed shelter house will open April 5. Another Seymour vote center at the Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108 opens April 18.

Brownstown’s early voting center will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Seymour’s early voting centers will be available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

On Saturdays, all early voting sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. State law changed this year to add a third Saturday during the early voting period.

Fifty-nine counties out of the 92 in the state have received approval from the secretary of the state’s office to offer vote centers.