Pulaski County may get a new early voting location next year.
During the 2016 election cycle, in-person absentee voting moved from the county courthouse to the Pulaski County Public Library in Winamac. While that alleviated some accessibility and privacy concerns, Election Board President Jon Frain says the arrangement has been less than convenient for Clerk Christi Hoffa. “After the last election, the consensus from Christi was that, based on her obligation to be available to the absentee voting, the library was too far away from here,” Frain said, “and she felt like was always out on the street and not here.”
However, he says that simply moving early voting back to the courthouse isn’t an option at this point. “There’s no adequate space for it, both for handicapped accessibility and privacy,” Frain says. “Voting in the hallway is not private.”
The county plans to install a new ADA-accessible elevator at the courthouse, but that work isn’t expected to be done until late next spring. Frain says the election board plans to discuss the options for an early voting location in more detail during a future meeting.
