By Rod Rose/The Lebanon Reporter
Lebanon — Voters will have another chance to avoid lines for what could be Boone County’s highest presidential election turnout ever.
Money for a third satellite voting site was approved, although with hesitation, by the Boone County Council Tuesday.
County Clerk Penny Bogan asked for $1,000 for absentee voting from 3 to 9 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Zionsville Town Hall, 1100 W. Oak St., Zionsville
She also requested $5,400 to expand absentee voting boards because she expects a high turnout for the November general election.
Bogan has already scheduled satellite voting from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Thorntown Public Library, 124 Market St., Thorntown, and the Zionsville Town Hall.
Anyone registered to vote in Boone County may use any of the satellite sites.
Satellite sites are a way to cast absentee ballots, for any contest in which they are eligible to vote, on a machine.
“It alleviates long lines on election day,” Bogan said. “I think it’s going to be a record turnout this time,” she said.
Council member Debbie Shubert questioned the expense. She thought the $250 per person “seems high” compared to the $125 paid poll workers who register 12 hours on election day.
“It’s always been that pay,” Bogan said. “I don’t know if I can find anyone for less than that.”
Bogan said one of the four poll workers will be a machine mechanic — a term held over from the time when voting machines were mechanical, not electronic. Mechanics are paid more than other poll workers because of their skills.
Council member Marcia Wilhoite said Bogan “had not convinced me of the need” for the additional site.
Steve Jacob, council president, also initially thought the request was too high.
“If we do have a record turnout,” he said, “I would hate to be in a position where we are not prepared.”
Shubert seconded council member Kerry Kries’ motion to approve the money.
Bogan said Wednesday the money will be enough for satellite sites in the 30 days before the election. Last year, 250 persons used the Zionsville satellite, she said.
Satellite sites have been set located at Thorntown and Zionsville since the 2006 primary election.
Absentee votes may also be cast in the Election Division office in the basement of the Boone County Courthouse, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Nov. 3; from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 25 and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 1.
Voters with disabilities who are caring for a confined person at a private home or who expect to be or become confined by illness or who are injured, may vote through the traveling board program, Bogan said.
Mailed or faxed applications are due by noon Oct. 27; applications may be hand-delivered to the clerk’s office no later than noon Nov. 3. The clerk’s office will schedule a time for the board to collect the ballot, Bogan said.
Voting Deadlines
Oct. 6 is the last day to register to vote and the first day to cast an absentee ballot, said Boone County Clerk Penny Bogan.
To register, go to the county clerk’s office on the second floor of the courthouse in downtown Lebanon, a Bureau of Motor Vehicles office or the Lebanon Public Library.
To request an absentee ballot, call the clerk at (765 483-5251 or (765) 482-3510, or visit www.boonecounty.in.gov.
To verify you are registered, call (866) 461-8631, visit www.boonecounty.in.gov or call the clerk at (765) 482-3510.
sign control
Political signs are not permitted in Lebanon until 30 days before the election, said Charlie Campbell, the city’s director of planning.
Several political signs have been collected by city employees, he said. Call 482-8845 to make arrangements to pick up the signs.
