VOTE CENTERS AND ELECTION COSTS-

Please see below a courtesy copy of an email that was sent to all legislators in the Indiana General Assembly regarding Vote Centers.

Dear Legislator:

Earlier this month, the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute delivered you a copy of their study, "Vote Centers and Election Costs: A Study of the Fiscal Impact of Vote Centers in Indiana." I sincerely hope you have taken the opportunity to review this study to learn how Vote Centers would positively impact the counties you represent. Highlights of the study include:

Vote Centers will produce significant savings for all counties that implemented them. Such savings are particularly noticeable in counties with a low number of registered voters per precinct. Also, counties that already locate more than one precinct in the same location would experience significant cost savings.

Vote Centers give local election officials more flexibility. With precincts, the number of locations and the level of staffing are fixed. County officials can do little to reduce cost per vote. With Vote Centers, election administrators can anticipate turnout and modify the number of locations and the level of staffing to suit their needs.

Vote Centers produce immediate and long-term savings. This study finds savings would result every election day as well as when time comes to repurchase voting equipment.

Vote Centers will significantly reduce the number of voting machines needed to conduct an efficient election.

More and more Hoosiers are realizing how Vote Centers can be a tool for local governments to continue to find savings without negatively impacting services or accessibility. In addition to the savings, Vote Centers add security on Election Day because by making in-person voting more accessible and because each polling location is connected to the statewide voter database.

As Hoosiers learn more about Vote Centers, they often compare them to satellite absentee voting offices. Our office prepared the document, "How do I know the difference between Vote Centers and satellite absentee voting offices?" in an effort to clear any confusion. We have found this document to be helpful when explaining Vote Centers to constituents and members of the media. This document and the IFPI study and executive summary are available online at www.in.gov/sos.

As the discussion about Vote Centers gains momentum, we ask you to consider the Vote Centers option for all of Indiana's 92 counties.

Sincerely,

Todd Rokita

Indiana Secretary of State