Muncie voting sites being cut for November election

MUNCIE – Delaware County officials have approved a plan to reduce the number of polling places that will be available to voters in the Nov. 4 election.

The plan, presented to the county commissioners Monday by County Clerk Steve Craycraft, would reduce from 70 to 50 the number of locations where voters will go to the polls this fall. The move doesn't reduce the number of precincts, which still stands at 77 in countywide elections, so voters won't have to be moved from their home precinct to another.

Some voters will, however, go to a new building — or a new entrance to the same building — to vote.

Officials were motivated by several factors in making the change. Among them is the cost of paying poll workers, the people inside polling places who ensure voting goes smoothly. Consolidating some polling places could eliminate the need for as many as 100 of the county's customary 500 poll workers.

"That would knock $25,000 off the cost," Craycraft told the commissioners, who are responsible for finding polling places for elections. Some poll workers are paid as much as $80 for a 14-hour day, he noted.

Outside the meeting, Craycraft noted that election costs are constant even when voter turnout is not.

"The (May primary election) cost $140,000 and we voted 10 percent," the clerk told The Star Press.

Another factor at work in reducing the number of polling places is the difficulty in securing locations. Officials have been moving away from using schools as polling places on election day after complaints from schools. Churches, neighborhood community centers and public buildings are common voting places but those can be in short supply. Several years ago, people in an under-served area of northern Delaware County voted in the garage of the then-office manager for the county sheriff.

Also a concern, Craycraft said: Too many of the poll workers don't show up on election day.

"We were 100 poll workers short (for training) the week before the election," Craycraft said. "And on election day, we had 25 poll workers not show up."

During Monday's meeting, officials also discussed the idea of giving poll workers $21 to buy their own meals on election day. Craycraft said it had become increasing difficult to find restaurants who could cater to hundreds of poll workers.

Giving poll workers money to buy their own meals "gets Delaware County out of the catering business," Craycraft said.

The reduction in voting sites isn't as dramatic an overhaul as some have proposed through ideas such as creating a handful of vote centers. Local officials have been reluctant to take that step.

A list of polling places will be finalized and published by The Star Press before the November election.

Contact Keith Roysdon at (765) 213-5828 and follow him on Twitter: @keithroysdon