Montgomery County Commissioners approved the switch from precinct voting to voting centers on Monday.
“I would like to thank the commissioners for approving vote centers,” said League of Women Voters President Karen Patton. “We’ve been working on this for a long time. We believe that it will be a much more effective way of running an election as well as show cost savings to the county.”
The county has previously had 19 polling centers with 135 poll workers for the 27 precincts, and voters were required to vote at certain precincts. With voting centers, voters can vote at whichever center is most convenient for them. The county will have 10 poll workers for each of the five voting centers at locations that are still being determined.
The county still plans to have early voting at the courthouse. For voters who do not go near the new locations, the plan is to have satellite voting at various places during the two weeks before election.
“There is nothing more important to our democracy than voting,” said LWV member Sheridan Hadley. “Will vote centers increase the number of voters going to the polls? Research does not show vote centers alone will do that. However, we believe vote centers, combined with continuation of early voting at the
courthouse and additional early voting opportunities in small towns, will increase voter convenience.”
The next step is for the Montgomery County Council to approve the purchase of 50 new voting machines at its Oct. 13 meeting. Montgomery County Clerk Jennifer Bentley has been asking for new voting machines for a long time because the county’s current machines, which were purchased in 1988, are too old to rely on. The
county has no extra machines if any break down in the upcoming election, and replacement parts are becoming more difficult to find.
Bentley said the purchase of the election equipment will not increase the budget by much considering how much the county will save by switching to voting centers. In previous meetings, Bentley has shared that the county could save up to $50,000 by using voting centers.
Commissioners decided they will consider leasing options for county vehicles. The county currently purchases all of its vehicles, including department vehicles, and pays for repairs. Last year, the county spent around $25,000 repairing its highway vehicles. With a fleet management program, the county could lease some or all of its vehicles, and the company would provide management and maintenance services.
Commission President Phil Bane said leasing county vehicles would centralize purchasing rather than having each department purchase their own.
Commissioners also approved sending out notices that bids will be accepted for the county farm. There will be a minimum bid of $250 per acre, and the final agreement will be for two years. They also passed Ordinance 2015-16 to accept Logan Road as a county road.
