Days of voting in schools is over: Delaware County officials make poll location changes

Delaware County is moving voting out of Muncie school buildings, after a school district request.  But as IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, with this year’s primary election a month away, one change will wait until November’s general election.

In recent years, Muncie students in schools used as polling places stay home and use e-learning on election days.  Muncie Community Schools Associate Superintendent Chuck Reynolds says that came from working in Richmond schools during a 2018 school shooting.

“I just couldn’t, in good conscious, say that we could keep everybody as safe as possible with the flow of traffic from a polling site, you know, with the doors open and folks coming in.”

Delaware County commissioners say they understand voting at school buildings isn’t a good option anymore.

“I agree,” says president Shannon Henry. “I think the days of us voting in the schools is probably over.”

Read More: Republicans reject effort to expand vote-by-mail to all Hoosiers

Two changes will be made this year.

In May, voters in the 13th precinct will vote at Maring-Hunt Library, which is next door to the previous location at Southview Elementary.

For the 18th precinct, changes won’t happen until November’s election.  That’s because the new location at the former Elgin Street career center building is farther from Longfellow Elementary.

Democrat Precinct committee chair Monte Murphy says many people in the neighborhood walk to the polls.

“If they come to Longfellow and it’s closed, you think they’re going to walk 15 blocks to go vote?  A lot of them, no.  They just go back home and say ‘I’ll just vote the next election.’”

County commissioners agreed with Muncie’s Human Rights Commission and the local chapter of NAACP to postpone moving voting out of Longfellow until November.

Henry asked Delaware County Clerk Rick Spangler to look into voting at local fire stations, like other counties do.  Spangler says some counties also use private buildings, as long as they are ADA-compliant.

The commissioners have asked for signs to be put up advertising the changes.  Spangler says voters also get letters directing them where to vote.