Voting centers' future in jeopardy

TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - A bill that would have extended Tippecanoe County's vote center program died yesterday, in the General Assembly's last day in session.

"Both sides had things they felt strongly about, and that is why I kind of knew that even though I was kind of keeping the hope up, that some of those things I can't see people budging on," said Heather Maddox, co-director of the Tippecanoe County Board of Elections. "The no-excuse absentee, or no fault absentee ballots were obviously a big sticking point."

"The change that they insisted upon would have allowed anybody in the state to vote absentee by mail without any reason," said Linda Phillips, Tippecanoe County Clerk.

Phillips said what ultimately did the bill in was a party disagreement on when it would take effect.

"The House Democrats insisted that this had to start July 1 of 2010," she said. "The Senate Republicans were equally adamant that it had to start January 1 of 2011."

Phillips had been pushing for the vote centers bill to pass, but said she knew negotiations had broken down earlier in the week. Now she and Maddox will spend time educating voters on what will happen next.

"The May primary and the General, the voters will still be able to vote how they live, in vote centers," Maddox said. "And then once we get closer to 2011, we're going to fight for them again."

"The three pilot counties have proven that you can save money, make voters happier and increase turnout, without having statewide, no-excuse absentee voting," Phillips said.