Starke County Clerk Ready to Submit Vote Center Plan to the State

The paperwork is ready to send to the state to officially put Starke County on the map as a Vote Center county.

The Starke County Election Board voted in April to move the county to a Vote Center county with a unanimous vote of the proposed Vote Center Plan by all three board members.  Following that action, the Starke County Commissioners and the Starke County Council members had to consider resolutions that approve the Vote Center Plan with a unanimous vote of all officials.  The Starke County Commissioners unanimously voted to approve the resolution on Monday, July 6 and the Starke County Council performed the same action on Monday, July 20. 

Clerk Bernadette Manuel told her fellow Starke County Election Board members on Wednesday morning that there were a few pieces of paper that had to be signed by the board before the plan was sent to the state.  The approval of the plan is expected to be approved almost immediately.  If the state officials have questions and those are successfully answered, then the plan will be in place.

Manuel said the plan is not permanent and can be changed at any time.  The changes must be submitted to the state for approval. 

She showed the board members a floor plan of every Vote Center site that will be open for the General Election in November.  They include the Koontz Lake Property Owners Building, James R. Hardesty Community Building in Hamlet, Washington Township Community Building, Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center in Knox, North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Department, San Pierre Fire Department, and the Bass Lake-California Township Fire Department.

Any registered voter can vote at any of those sites in the upcoming election.