Porter Co. considers more election funding

The looming general election brought the Board of Elections and Registration before the Porter County Council Tuesday for a wide array of additional appropriations and transfers to cover everything from supplies for absentee ballots to pay for part-time workers.

The discussion surrounding the requests also provided the council with insight into how election preparations are going, including the use of a new mobile voting vehicle.

The vehicle, used for the first time during the primary, garnered more voters than the Union Township early voting location, Clerk Jessica Bailey said.

People are calling the office because they are excited about it, said Becky Rauch, deputy director in the Elections and Voter Registration Office.

With a shortened window for early voting in the primary, pushed by the COVID-19 pandemic to

June, with one week of early voting, the vehicle was particularly helpful, Bailey said, adding many people also turned in their absentee ballots at the vehicle rather than putting them in the mail.

“We were hoping it would be a tool to give better access to voters,” said Councilman Dan Whitten, D-At large.

Also on tap was a request for an additional appropriation of $70,000 for coding for the general election, some of which may be reimbursed by a CARES Act grant, as well another appropriation and transfers for supplies and pay for part-time election staff.

The number of absentee ballots being requested and mailed out is considerably higher than in past elections, Bailey and Rauch said, adding that as of Tuesday, officials had sent out 8,800 absentee ballots.