Indiana Wesleyan returns as polling location; government building insufficient, commissioners say

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Voters were surprised this spring when a tried-and-true polling location at Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) was taken off the list. That shunted a large number of people to other voting centers, causing long lines to cast a ballot. An alternate site at Latitude 40 on the city’s north end went virtually unutilized.

Howard County Clerk Debbie Stewart is trying to fix the issue as IWU is back in the fold. She presented the contract to use the facility on east Markland Avenue to the Howard County Board of Commissioners earlier this month.

“We are going back to Indiana Wesleyan for the fall election,” said Stewart, explaining that a scheduling conflict was responsible for the facility’s removal from the list of voting centers. She acknowledged that Latitude 40 was a last-minute addition that didn’t work as hoped.

“Indiana Wesleyan notified us right at the last minute that there was a scheduling conflict, so we just had to find a place,” said Stewart. “We’ve worked with them since the primary, and they have us all scheduled and no conflicts.”

That usage agreement includes a $3,600 fee for the facility. Commissioner Jack Dodd balked at the amount, but Stewart explained that is the rental fee for the conference rooms.

With that voting center location settled, the commissioners turned their attention to access issues that need addressed in their own house. The conditions at the Jeff Stout Government Center on East Mulberry Street leave much to be desired, according to Commissioner Jeff Lipinski.

“There were a lot of issues with voting,” said Lipinski. “The (exterior) elevator was down. I had numerous emails wanting to know when the elevator was going to be fixed. And it was somewhat inconvenient for people to park in the back of the building by the coroner’s office to come in.

“I assume that it’s going to be real hard to move things out of there, so I think that we have to do a better job of making it much more accessible for people that have any kind of handicap, whether we need to reserve certain parking, make it that way for the duration of voting, and or have wheelchairs accessible and things like that.”

Lipinski noted that the Howard County Health Department did provide the use of its wheelchair for voters with mobility issues, but he didn’t see that as a solution. Dodd entered the conversation, proposing that the Jeff Stout Center no longer be used as a voting center.

“We’ve had this discussion before,” Dodd said. “I don’t feel like that’s a proper place to have a voting system. Its location is not good. Access is not good. I think we need to look for a different place.”

This caused Stewart some concern, as the county’s voter registration office and the storage area for the county’s voting equipment both are in the building.

“We have to have a place for the equipment, and we have to have a place for voter (registration),” said Stewart. “And we have to have a place for the election room. It all needs to be contained together. It makes it easier for voter (registration) to work with the election room and vice versa.”

Lisa Washington, a candidate for the Howard County Board of Commissioners, was allowed to speak during the discussion. She offered an alternative site for a voting center.

“Pastor (Lonnie) Anderson has offered up Mount Pisgah (Missionary Baptist Church),” said Anderson. “Mount Pisgah has an activity center, and I think if someone would like to go over there, they have ample parking. There are no steps to go in, and it is a big center.

“If you’re looking for another place, it’s something that would be convenient, somewhere you don’t have to worry about an elevator. It’s handicapped accessible.”

Stewart admitted that Mount Pisgah had occurred to her as a possible voting center location and expressed an interest in speaking with the pastor.

“I had driven by that church, but I didn’t know who to get in contact with,” said Stewart. “So, I appreciate this for future reference. If we have an issue with the UAW or Indiana Wesleyan, or any of the other voting locations, we could fall back on them. I would love to come out and see it.”