When reading the Hamilton County Reporter Sunday, a front page story headline caught my eye – “Hamilton County primary ballots just got more expensive.”   What would cause expenses to increase for this year’s May primary election?

Based on the Reporter story, Greg Purvis, the Democratic Party appointee to the Hamilton County Election Board, cited a section of the Indiana code allowing names of unopposed candidates for election as a precinct committeeman or a delegate to a political party’s state convention to be placed on the primary election ballot at the request of that political party.

Basically, Democrats were asserting the law to list those unopposed candidates on the May primary ballot.  According to the Reporter story, County Clerk Kathy Williams will need to modify the ballots. “There was also discussion on whether the extra cost will add benefit to the election process,” the Reporter story says.

There was no indication how much it would cost the county to make the change, listing those Democratic unopposed candidates.

So, I contacted Greg Purvis to ask about the added expense.

“This (Hamilton County Reporter) headline is misleading,” Purvis told LarryInFishers. “I don’t recall any discussion of cost, and any additional cost should be minor given that most voters use our electronic voting machines.”

The Reporter story does urge all voters with a recent change of address to notify the Hamilton County Elections Office in the Noblesville Courthouse.