Vote center system faces test: County hopes additional sites, machines will reduce lines
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Sharon Keith of Greenwood votes Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, at the voting center in the White River Township Trustees office. Johnson County voters are taking advantage of the early voting to beat long line next Tuesday. Scott Roberson / Daily Journal
Tuesday’s election will be the first big test for the county’s new voting system.
Johnson County switched to vote centers in May for the primary election, but county officials want to make voting as convenient as possible for the thousands of residents who will be using the centers for the first time next week.
Vote centers replace precinct voting and allow residents to cast their ballots at any of 22 centers in the county, Johnson County Clerk Sue Anne “Susie” Misiniec said. Precinct voting required residents to vote at a specific voting location based on where they live.
County officials thought the centers would be more convenient for voters because they are not restricted to voting at one place, Misiniec said. But switching to the centers has come with some problems. In the primary election, residents complained of waiting in long lines and not knowing where to go.
To make sure all voters know where to go on Election Day, the county has asked local churches to list the center locations in their bulletins and sent cards with the list of voting sites to residents in the spring, she said. Signs with the list of vote center locations will be posted at the previous precinct voting locations in case voters show up there instead.
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