Each of the polling sites for November’s municipal elections will have two electronic voting machines in place. Members of the Starke County Election Board say that will help speed the process and will also provide a backup in case a machine malfunctions. Continue reading
The Starke County Election Board is making plans for next year’s elections. Offices on the ballot include president and governor, as well as a number of other state and local positions. Continue reading
In-office absentee voting begins on Tuesday, April 7 for the Knox Municipal Election. The Starke County Election Board this week approved evening in-office voting hours in the second-floor meeting room in the Starke County Courthouse.
In addition to the regular absentee hours from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT, voters may cast ballots on Tuesday, April 21 and Thursday, April 30 from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday absentee voting hours will be April 25 and May 2 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Starke County Election Board officials are attempting to correct absentee ballot issues.
Starke County Clerk Vicki Cooley said they reviewed the ballots that were built using a common procedure set forth by the state. After the ballots had been built, the board was notified of an ordinance enacted by the city that differs from state procedure.
The Starke County Election Board Monday morning discussed improvements planned at the North Bend Township polling site at Bass Lake. A $24,000 grant was obtained last year to upgrade the facility to standards outlined in the Help America Vote Act.
The grant will improve the voting center on Prairie Avenue to make it more handicapped accessible. According to Starke County Election Board President Dan Bridegroom, one door will be replaced, and one installed to make two exits in the building. Those with walkers or another type of mobility assistance will be able to have a smoother walkway with improvements planned for the site. Parking will be expanded and improved so voters of all abilities can better access the site to vote.
Improvements will be done to the North Bend Township polling location thanks to a Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grant.
According to Starke County Clerk Vicki Cooley, the county was awarded the grant worth $24,459.35. The money will be used to upgrade the handicapped accessibility at that site. The improvements will be done this spring. Proposals for the work will be taken soon.
The Starke County Election Board looked ahead to the 2015 Municipal Election when they met for the last time this year.
Since the population is below 3,500 residents, North Judson voters will participate in a town convention and will elect a clerk-treasurer and town board members in Ward 1, Ward 2 and Ward 3. Hamlet residents will also participate in a town convention and will elect a clerk-treasurer and town board members. Hamlet has only one Ward.
The Starke County Election Board members will hold their final meeting of the year this morning in the second floor conference room in the Starke County Courthouse.
The board members will be discussing a disclaimer dispute plus reviewing the November General Election and the recount. There were recounts in the Starke County Council District 4 and the Railroad Township Trustee races. Both recounts showed the same results as in the General Election.
The Starke County Election Board discussed political sign disclaimers during their meeting Thursday afternoon.
A written complaint was filed by Tammie Taulbee, a Knox School Board candidate, that four candidates did not have disclaimers on their signs placed in public areas promoting their candidacy for the General Election.
It is law that a disclaimer be included on all political material stating who paid for the material and whether any candidate approves of the material if the material is paid for by someone other than the candidate.
The Starke County Election Board will meet today to address some issues before Election Day.
The board members plan to discuss political sign disclaimers. That meeting is set for noon today. Continue reading
Starke County is the recipient of a $24,000 federal grant to improve voting accessibility.
The Starke County Election Board inspects polling locations annually and determined that the North Bend Township polling location needed to meet federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) standards, according to Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski.
The Starke County Election Board met Tuesday morning to discuss some issues that arose during the Primary Election.
Pat Mitchell, who has been a member of the Starke County Election Board for many years, tendered his resignation. He cited declining health as his reason for resigning, but noted that he’s enjoyed serving the county in this capacity for many years.
The Starke County Election Board members will meet today at 9 a.m. to go over several complaints issued during the Primary Election.
The board members will discuss complaints from the poll workers, from candidates and supporter and about the food vendor. Remedies will be considered for the General Election.
A candidate has withdrawn and more information will be available during the meeting.
The Starke County Election Board will meet in the second floor meeting room in the Starke County Courthouse.
The public testing of voting machines will take place on Monday, April 7 at 10 a.m. CT on the second floor of the Starke County Courthouse.
Starke County Election Board officials encourage you to get acquainted with the electronic Microvote machines before you cast your important ballot in the May 6 Primary Election.
The Starke County Election Board has formally approved a public question presented by the Knox Community School Board to be placed on a ballot for a special election set for May 7.
The question pertains to the proposed Knox Elementary School renovation and construction project. The Department of Local Government Finance has approved the wording of the question to be placed on the ballot and it has been certified by the Starke County auditor.
The Starke County Election Board met Thursday morning to discuss a number of topics, including the Knox Community School Corporation’s request to hold a special election on May 7 in order to present a public question to its voters.
Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski said that the Department of Local Government Finance did not approve the referendum wording before the meeting, but the approval was received after the meeting was held. She said the DLGF approved everything with no changes, and the board also received certification from Auditor Kay Chaffins. Now, she said, the Election Board must vote on whether or not to put the question on the ballot.
The Starke County Election Board is expected to meet at 10 a.m. this morning to discuss a number of topics, including the Knox Community School Corporation’s request to hold a special election on May 7 in order to present a public question to its voters.
The Starke County Election Board will be meeting Thursday, Jan. 31 to discuss the public question to be presented to the Knox Community School District voters in a special election on May 7. The meeting will be held in the 2nd floor meeting room in the Starke County Courthouse.
The election board must approve the school board’s request to have the public question on the ballot. Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski said this is the first time in a non-election year that a special election has been requested in many, many years. She added that only voters in the six Center Township precincts, California Township 1 and 2, and Washington Township 1 and 2 will be able to vote on the public question.
According to Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski, the Election Board has been looking at a number of ways to reduce the expense of elections per voter. Skronski says that the May Primary was relatively expensive in terms of cost per voter in some precincts, such as Center 3, where the cost per voter came out to $10.79. This was the highest average cost per voter for any Starke County precinct, but Skronski says other townships with a higher voter turnout were significantly less expensive per voter, such as Oregon 1, where the average cost came out to $2.32 per voter.
Skronski says that some methods that were discussed to reduce the cost per precinct included reducing the number of poll workers in precincts with less than 700 registered voters. She says they could cut down on the cost by eliminating the presence of a sheriff at those locations, but the salaries of the poll workers would have to be increased because of their additional duties. Oregon 3, Jackson, and Center 6 precincts would be affected by the resolution.
The Starke County Election Board met Tuesday morning and Oregon-Davis School Superintendent, Dr. Steve Disney, approached the board with a referendum for the May ballot.
