by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(Editor’s Note:  Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff said Wednesday that no schools will be polling places in the upcoming primary election, but he is open to using HSE school facilities in the November general election if needed)   

Thousands of Fishers residents eligible to vote in the upcoming primary election will find their precinct polling locations have moved from past elections. The change in locations comes about because of school officials’ concerns about safety. Apparently fearing a terrorist might enter the school during voting, Hamilton Southeastern has asked that no schools be used as polling sites.

Several hundred voters in Carmel and Westfield will also find their polling places changed for various reasons not related to the school safety concerns. Countywide, 39,378 voters will find their Election Day voting place has changed, according to County Clerk Kathy Williams. She and her staff have been working on the changes since January.

Affected voters will be notified by mail of their new voting location. That notification process comes at a price; the mailings and the time involved by election workers amount to thousands of dollars. The post cards being used and postage amounts to $15,700.

State law provides that public buildings can be used as polling places if needed. Several schools in Hamilton County have been used for many years, but two years ago school officials began voicing safety concerns, Carmel Clay Schools were the first to announce they no longer wanted voting in their buildings.

County officials, apparently not wanting to debate the matter, agreed to move all voting to new locations at Monday’s County Commissioners meeting. The changes in Fishers were approved without comment.

Williams said yesterday that she may need better locations for the 2020 general election, and asked that if any organization has a building with substantial parking space, she would like to hear from such a group. And, as is customary, workers for Election Day duty at the polls are being sought.

As the May 7 primary election nears, satellite early voting centers will be opening in the last two weeks before the election. These centers will again be located at Westfield City Hall, Fishers City Hall and the Carmel Public Library. Hours for voting may be found on the Hamilton County website under current election information.