Actually, it was a flawless election

Guest columnist and former Hamilton County Democratic Party Chair, Jocelyn Vare, recently responded to my newspaper report on the May election. She claims the ‘nearly flawless’ election was flawed. She said it sent hundreds of Hamilton County voters away. She claims that a Holland Park (located in Fishers) Democratic poll worker reported that approximately 700 people arrived there to vote on Election Day, and she claimed that about 220 had to be redirected to a different polling location.

She advocated for voting centers to make it more convenient.

But let’s look at the facts.

To be clear, it was not the election setup that sent hundreds of voters away if, in fact, that happened. Her Democratic voters apparently did not take the time to be sufficiently advised on the election to know where they should go to vote. That information was readily available on the Hamilton County webpage, at the Hamilton County Elections Office, and in the Reporter Newspaper, among other places.

In deciding whether to institute voting centers, this same convenience argument was brought to the Hamilton County Election Board. I reasoned that if a voter was not diligent enough to find out where they could vote, they may not have been informed enough on the issues and candidates to be the type of voter that would serve this county well.

Voting seemed more accessible by being closer to the voter. It is accessible through absentee and in-person early voting, which was open numerous days. Early voting locations for the general election are already available on the Hamilton County webpage.

Vote centers implementation would require a ballot with all of the approximately 98 candidates who ran for office in the current election. It would need to also include more than 100 precinct committeemen and state delegates that threw their hat into the ring. The size of the ballot alone would have its own complications. As ballots get bigger, equipment may need to be replaced.

Ms. Vare’s argument of convenience did not carry weight when I voted against vote centers. I said then that I wanted to wait until Allen County had tried out the new vote center system there. Allen County has recently reported that the size of their ballot on the voting machines led to drawn-out vote counting. The equipment and software to have an election to vote for 300 or so candidates is not a seamless task.

Senator Jim Banks blasted the delayed Allen County election results. I did not want that to happen here.

I am glad we waited.

While it is always important to consider better options for voting, I thought then, and still think now, that caution is warranted before we change our voting systems.

Jennifer Murphy also sent me a letter. She first indicated that we could not be proud of 17 percent voter turnout. It is all how you look at it. I contend that 100 percent of the voters voted. Eighty-some percent voted that things were going along well enough that they did not need to vote for change. They were equally satisfied with either of the candidates for a particular office. That thought is comforting to know that Hamilton County is apparently doing things right and has many quality candidates from which to choose.

Ms. Murphy also indicated she had trouble finding information about the Election Board. I have been appointed by the Republican Party Chairman. The Democratic Chairman also has an appointment, and the County Clerk rounds out the three-member Board. If you Google Hamilton County Election Board, a webpage comes up. It shows our next meeting at 11 a.m. on May 15 in the Clerk’s Office. The agenda calls for the Board to review provisional ballots and certify final election results. Other Election Day matters will also be discussed. The public is always welcome to attend.

The Board welcomes input on problems and perceived problems and suggestions on how to do things better. We also like the opportunity to explain the difficulties not readily apparent in some seemingly simple solutions.

Ray Adler is a longtime attorney with offices at The Adler Building, 136 S. 9th St., Downtown Noblesville. He is also one of the owners of The Hamilton County Reporter Newspaper.