Porter County voters can expect to move through the voting process faster than ever this general election, according to Porter County Clerk Jessica Bailey, who was on hand assisting the Board of Elections and Registration to test election equipment Friday morning.
This is the first general election in which Porter County voters will use the new machines, which replaced those lost when the office flooded in 2024. Bailey said the old machines would only show voters one contest per screen.
“Now you’re going to be able to make a selection on multiple contests and then hit ‘Next,’” she said. “Even flipping of screens” will be faster, she said, “where before there was lag time.”
“These are the same machines as the primary, but a lot of people don’t vote in the primary, so it’s going to look different than they’re used to and it’s going to be a much quicker process.”
The Election Board tested the high-speed central counting machine at the Porter County Expo Center and then moved to the basement of the elections and registration office to put the express voting machines and vote counters through the paces before early voting.
Jackie Haney, Republican candidate for Porter County Clerk, was the only observer present. Haney said she was there “learning,” preparing to take over for Bailey, who is term-limited by state law that limits holding the office to eight years in a 12-year period, should she win in November.
Haney’s Democratic opponent is Barb Domer, a Valparaiso City Council member.
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“They’re so nice,” Haney said of the machines. “At the Expo there was a new machine. It’s a little more technical, but the graphics and everything are a little more clear,” she said.
“I think their graphics and everything are a little clearer,” agreed Assistant Elections and Registration Director Tara Graf, who spent a week training on all the equipment with Director Sundae Schoon. Voting machine vendor ES & S taught them how to code the equipment with new software.
Haney is pursuing her Certificate of Election Administration Technology and Security through Ball State University’s Voting System Technical Oversight Program. “We were learning about election technology and security,” she said. “It’s nice to learn about it, but also to see it.”
The last day to register to vote is Monday and early voting begins Tuesday. There will still be 39 polling locations on Election Day as in the primary because “we still don’t have Immanuel Lutheran. They’re still under construction,” Bailey explained.
The Vote Mobile has added two stops this year: the Valparaiso Trunk or Treat event and the new Family Express across the street from the Porter County Expo Center. More dates have been added to the schedule as well.
Early voting times and locations, as well as Election Day vote center locations, can be found at www.portercountyin.gov/170/Elections-Registration.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.