The Starke County Election Board wants to make it easier for voters to cast their ballots early at the courthouse. On Wednesday, board members discussed moving in-person absentee voting from the second floor to a meeting room on the first floor, according to County Clerk Vicki Cooley.
She says the change will make the voting location more accessible to people with disabilities. While the courthouse has an elevator, Cooley says it’s difficult to use and not always reliable.
The new space would be right next to the building’s main entrance. It would have room for poll workers, as well as two voting machines. Cooley adds that during absentee voting, the room would be set aside for voting only. At other times, the space will be used as a meeting room for various county departments. Voter registration and other election business would still take place in the clerk’s office upstairs.
One Election Day polling place was also reviewed by the election board Wednesday. Cooley says voting in the Oregon 2 precinct may be moved out of the Koontz Lake Fire Station to somewhere more accessible to voters with disabilities.
