New digs at the Porter County Elections and Registration Office did not equate more room on Friday, when the election board met there for the first time to certify the May primary.
The four-member board, along with Porter County Clerk Jessica Bailey and the elections staff, squeezed into the small room with jibes that the move hadn’t gained any space in that quarter.
The office moved earlier this year from the basement of the county administration building in downtown Valparaiso to 155 Franklin St., a block away.
The board assessed absentee ballots that needed further scrutiny for a variety of reasons, such as voters forgetting to sign or some other glitch, as well as analyzed provisional ballots filled out on Election Day. “It’s a way for them to vote when they don’t come up in the system,” Bailey explained of the provisional ballots.
“Just to explain further Sundae, these are all valid ballots, but for whatever reason the (ballot tabulating machine) wouldn’t read them?” clarified Election Board Vice President Ethan Lowe with Elections and Registration Director Sundae Schoon. She said the machine couldn’t read four ballots because the ink was smeared.
“Always somethin’,” quipped Porter County Republican Chairman Michael Simpson, who was present to observe. “Even with fancy technology, there’s always somethin’.”
“Out of the thousands of votes, that’s not bad,” Lowe replied.
They chatted while Schoon and her deputy ran the tabulators through their paces. Simpson said he’s hoping the November general election has a higher voter turnout than the county’s 66.23% in the 2020 general election.
“I’d like to see it bigger than that. It if goes backwards that would be depressing,” he said. “Signs don’t vote. I have to remind people of that.”
The primary, according to election results on the county’s website, drew just under 14% of the county’s voters.
After certifying the election with no changes to preliminary results, the board adjourned briefly so it could move to the administration building for its regular agenda.
Bailey praised the efforts of three other county departments for assisting in a smooth operation on Election Day: the Highway Department for moving voting machines and other equipment from storage to the 44 voting centers and back; the Facilities Department for having the new Elections and Registration Office and equipment storage ready in time for the election; and the IT Department for setting up a new email account so ballots could be accepted from overseas military personnel when the county’s email went down.
She also praised retiring Deputy Clerk Sharon Slusher for her 17 years of service. “She’s leaving pretty big shoes to fill,” Bailey said.
“It’s selfless work and it’s appreciated and oftentimes goes unseen,” added Election Board President Paul Rausch.
The town of Porter was also given praise for helping overcome a power outage at the Hawthorne Park voting center. “Particularly the power loss is a curveball that I don’t think we’ve dealt with in my time,” Lowe said, adding that it was handled well by all, including the election volunteers.
The bi-partisan board, which plays an active role at the end of election night ensuring all ballot deliveries from the 44 vote centers are correct, debriefed on a couple of challenges from the election.
That included a voter walking out of a polling place with a ballot in hand and poll workers forgetting to sign off on the tally sheets before leaving for the night.
“You’re the boss. Don’t let anybody go until all the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed,’” Board Member Jeff Chidester said of the advice he would give election judges.
“It was the same issue, it seemed like, time and time again,” Lowe added.
“I think our message just has to be, ‘We’ll do better,’ because without that army of election workers nothing gets done,” Rausch said.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Shelley Jones , 2024-05-18 20:52:33
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