Lentz
The Bartholomew County Election Board voted Thursday to add poll workers at several voting locations for the upcoming presidential election to help accommodate what official believe could be high turnout.
The bipartisan board voted to add one Republican and one Democratic judge at nine of the 14 vote centers in Bartholomew County for the Nov. 5 election, according to Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz. Judges help voters get set up on the voting machines and provide instructions on the voting process.
The nine locations include Donner Center, NexusPark, St. Johns Masonic Lodge, Flintwood Wesleyan Church, Terrace Lake Church, Hope Moravian Church, Elizabethtown Fire Station, German Township Fire Station and Westside Community Church.
“These vote centers were chosen based upon voter turnout,” Lentz said. “…It is our hope that the addition of extra judges will help move voters along more quickly and lessen the work load on our poll workers.”
Local election officials have said they are expecting “big numbers” of voters in Bartholomew County to turn out to vote in the upcoming election.
In the 2020 general election, 69% of registered voters in Bartholomew County cast ballots, the highest turnout since 1992, according to county records.
Lentz said having additional judges could provide local election officials with more flexibility to bring in additional voting machines should they need to.
“A luxury of being a vote center county is we can add machines to the locations, but if we don’t have the workers to actually put the (voters) on the machines, I can’t expect a judge to handle six machines or something,” Lentz said previously. “…It’s just actually getting people set on the machines and given them the instructions they need to hear regarding the voting process. Sometimes that can take a little bit of time, and we don’t want to rush through that process.”
The election board also has received confirmation that the same voting centers used in the 2024 primary may be used for the upcoming general election, Lentz said.
