Marcia Moore wasn’t going to address the crowd. The Hancock County clerk didn’t plan to give a formal speech to residents gathered during a special meeting Tuesday to address problems, including long lines and equipment failures, that plagued May’s election — which left the county without results until 24 hours after polls closed. The Hancock County Election Board called the meeting to give the county’s election software company the opportunity to come before the board to discuss what changes it’s making to prevent such problems in the future. Residents were also invited and given the chance to address the election board, which answered questions as they popped up but didn’t plan to make a formal presentation to the crowd. But after voters and candidates who attended the public meeting complained for nearly 30 minutes about long lines, unprepared staff and a faulty voting system, Moore spoke up. She told residents if they’re unhappy with Hancock County’s voting system, to get involved: volunteer to be a poll worker or vote early.
Before the primary election problems were discussed Tuesday night, the election board voted to open additional vote centers in McCordsville and New Palestine — increasing the polling sites from 12 to 14 — for November’s election in hopes of minimizing voter wait time. The county will also work to bolster its army of poll workers.
Election Systems & Software, the company that provides Hancock County with its election software, is also making a number of changes ahead of November’s Election Day, the company’s vice president of election operations Kevin Kerrigan told the crowd.
The company is adding to its workforce to reduce staff member workload, increasing training on the company’s systems and instructing staff members to make sure ballots are correct before they are uploaded to the system, he said.
“We know we have room for improvement,” Kerrigan said.
Full Article: Residents, officials debate primary debacle.