Elections director voices concern with precinct consolidation
Michelle Fajman, director of the Lake County Election and Voter Registration Board, has concerns about the proposed small precinct consolidation, which the election board decided Tuesday to vote on next month.
The Secretary of State’s office filed a list of 35 small precinct consolidations as of Nov. 1, 2020, which includes consolidating East Chicago precincts 22, 23, and 24 into a single precinct.
Under state statute, the Secretary of State’s Office has until July 1 the year after a presidential election year to inform the county which precincts had fewer than 600 voters, Fajman said. Under state statute, the small consolidated precincts go into effect Sept. 1 of that same year, she said.
This year, the Secretary of State did not submit the small precinct consolidation on July 1, Fajman said, stating that the delay in 2020 census data impacted the delay in the consolidation data.
But, Fajman said the registered voter count determines how many voters are within a precinct, not the census. The other issue here, Fajman said, is that the November 2020 data is over a year old and since then 17 of the precincts on the list have grown to more than 600 voters.
“So the point becomes, which date do we use? If (the Secretary of State) is asking for recommendations, our recommendation — in my opinion — should be based of what current data is,” Fajman said.
The other concern Fajman said she has is bad connections considered under the proposed consolidations, like consolidating Gary precinct 10 and Gary precinct 16 over the railroad tracks and U.S. Highway 12⁄20.
Additionally, Fajman said she is concerned that one precinct on the list has more than 600 voters and one precinct with less than 600 voters not on the list.
Finally, Fajman is concerned that local knowledge isn’t being considered. For example, St. John Precincts 08 and 16 are being proposed as a consolidation, which would become 1,962 registered voters total in one precinct, she said.
Under state law, any precinct with 2,000 voters has to be split up, Fajman
said, which could mean the board will have to come back soon to divide the precinct again.
Board member Mike Mellon said he “doesn’t like” that argument because the law states at what point precincts should be split, which the St. John example doesn’t meet.
“Why not just go by the actual number? ‘Oh, we’re so close. We’re one voter away.’ Well, round them up. Get people to register in that area. Go door-to-door,” Mellon said.
Board President Kevin Smith said local knowledge is important, and the board knows that St. John is seeing a lot of new construction.
Assistant Director LeAnn Angerman said the law states that any precinct with less than 600 voters as of Nov. 1, 2020 are identified for consolidation. The precinct summary statement the county files uses current precinct data, she said.
Angerman said she agrees that some precincts on the list have since grown over 600, which will be reflected in the precinct summary statement for a state board to follow.
“None of this is arbitrary. You follow the steps of the law,” Angerman said.
Initially, the election board on Tuesday proposed to hold off voting on the small precinct consolidations to give local political leaders an opportunity to review and respond to the proposed consolidations.
But, after the board approved a list of additions proposed by the state as it relates to establishing precincts and annexations, Mellon voiced his concern that the board approved the list without having time to review it.
Fajman told Mellon that the list had to be approved so that the state can move forward with the precinct and annexation process. The board still has an opportunity to review the list and more will likely be added to it, she said.
If the state urgently needs that list, Mellon said the same must apply to the small precinct consolidation and so made a motion to approve the consolidations.
The vote failed 3-2. The board is scheduled to meet Dec. 7 to discuss the small precinct consolidation.