After scramble, Purdue, Election Board come up with campus polling place
Voting advocates: That’s progress, but will Election Day site happen, too?
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AFTER SCRAMBLE, PURDUE, ELECTION BOARD PROPOSE CAMPUS POLLING PLACE
After scrambling this week amid criticism that there were no on-campus polling places on or before Election Day, Purdue and the Tippecanoe County Election Board announced Wednesday that they’ve come up with what they call a viable option for one session of early voting.
The county’s Election Board will consider an early polling place on Oct. 24 at the Córdova Recreational Sport Center, the county and Purdue said in a joint statement Wednesday.
The two said the Co-Rec site would “provide further access, in addition to the previously announced locations in walking proximity of the West Lafayette campus.”
The hours for that Oct. 24 session weren’t announced. And neither side addressed whether an Election Day vote center on campus was still in consideration.
Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush, who is one of three members of the Election Board, said the county also will consider adding an early voting site at the McAllister Center in Lafayette’s north end.
Both site would need unanimous approval by the three member of the Election Board, Roush said. The Election Board is scheduled to meet Sept. 27 to finalize the proposed site.
Several people who had been pushing in the past week for the university and the county elections office to reconsider its vote center lineup so it included something on campus welcomed the announcement – but called for more.
“This is an improvement, but an Election Day site as well would provide even more opportunities for voting,” Jacque Chosnek, chair of the Tippecanoe County Democratic Party, said. “I would like to see an Election Day site.”
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Lisa Dullum, a Tippecanoe County Council member who had questioned the Election Board’s initial list of 15 Election Day sites and nine early voting sites, said the move didn’t seem to go far enough.
“That’s great but what about Election Day?” Dullum said. “Why can’t we have what we have had every other election year? I hope they are still working on it.”
The Tippecanoe County Election Board voted on Aug. 15 to set up 15 Election Day vote centers and nine early voting sites, starting Oct. 8. Election officials said that the county looked to work through logistics, including getting state-required dedicated and secure connections for voter registration data, with Purdue and suggested various sites on campus – Elliott Hall of Music and the Purdue Armory, among them – without getting the university to commit before the Election Board vote.
University officials doubled back this week, offering to work with the county on finding a polling place.
Election Day vote centers also will be at West Lafayette City Hall – about three blocks from the eastern edge of campus – and five hours of early voting on Oct. 22 at First United Methodist Church, a half-mile west of the university’s residence halls on Mitch Daniels Boulevard.
In the past four presidential elections, on-campus vote centers – both early and on Election Day – have produced between 2,426 and 7,268 votes. The turnout at on-campus vote centers have accounted for between 4.4% and 10.4% of the total Tippecanoe County turnout in those years.
If you go: The Tippecanoe County Election Board will meet at 10 a.m. Sept. 27 at the County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette.
For more about the election
Your ballot and voter registration check: The voter registration deadline to vote in the Nov. 5 election is Oct. 7. To check your voter registration, get registered or to see candidates who will be on your general election ballot, go to the Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com.
Tippecanoe County voters may cast a ballot at any vote center, whether on Election Day or during four weeks of early voting. Here’s where they’ll be.
Early voting
Oct. 8-Oct. 11, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
Oct. 15-Oct. 18, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
Oct. 21-Oct. 25, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
Oct. 22, noon-5 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 1700 Mitch Daniels Boulevard, West Lafayette
Oct. 26, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., West Point Fire Station, 4949 Indiana 25 S., West Point; Otterbein United Methodist Church, 405 Oxford St., Otterbein; Clarks Hill Christian Church, 9510 Pearl St., Clarks Hill; 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette;
Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
Oct. 29-Nov. 1, noon-6 p.m., Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette.
Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette.
Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
Nov. 4, 8 a.m.-noon, Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
On Election Day
Lafayette
Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road
Lafayette Community Church of the Nazarene, 3801 Union St.
Evangelical Covenant Church, 3600 S. Ninth St.
Tippecanoe County Historical Association History Center, 522 Columbia St.
Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South
Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South
Northend Community Center, 2000 Elmwood Ave.
West Lafayette
Faith West Community Center, 1920 Northwestern Ave.
Margerum City Hall/West Lafayette City Hall, 222 N. Chauncey Ave.
Connection Point Church, 2541 Cumberland Ave.
John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road
Others
Dayton Gathering Point Church, 7201 Wesleyan Drive, Dayton
Shadeland Town Hall, 2485 Indiana 25 West, Shadeland
Battle Ground Fire Station, 112 North St., Battle Ground
Tippecanoe Township Volunteer Fire Station No. 2, 448 W. County Road 650 North, West Lafayette
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
Good progress, but I agree with the sentiment of those quoted: what about Election Day? I hope folks mark their calendar to express their feelings on 9/27. Thanks as always for the details, Dave.
I’ve written to election board again about getting PURDUE ELECTION STATIONS ON VOTING DAY. What else can I do to add pressure on Purdue and the election board?