Parke County Commissioners vote in favor of vote centers

Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 11:36 AM

By Paul Gable

Voters in Parke County will now have the opportunity to vote anywhere in the county regardless of their precinct following a measure by the Parke County Commissioners.

The Commissioners approved a request by the Parke County Election Board to go to vote centers and keep all nine vote centers open to voters. The decision, which was unanimous, came on the heels of discussions to possibly eliminate polling places at Tangier, Lyford and Bridgeton.

"We want everyone to have access, and that's why this is so important now. People have the same access they have always have, and now they have more and can go anyplace to vote. If they are working someplace and didn't have a chance to go vote at 6 in the morning, now they can go vote on their lunch or whatever. I think it will open up for more people to vote anyway. The whole idea is to make it easier on people to get more people out," Commissioner Jim Meece said.

Nicole Collings, Parke County Clerk, told the commissioners that after an election or two, they will re-examine the vote center idea, but for now, there will be nine vote centers.

She pointed to convenience to voters as the reason why a change to vote centers was needed.

"Voters can go out and vote anywhere and do not have to go to their precinct. Let's say I live in Union and work in Adams Township, it is easier for me to vote on my lunch hour," she said.

Meece asked what the process would be should the Election Board ever decide to close any polling places.

"We are not going to close them, we are going to leave them open. We would go back and re-evaluate and amend our vote center plan," Collings said.

Meece thanked the Election Board and Collings for their work to make the voting process easier for Parke County voters.

"People can now go anywhere to vote, you are not taking any places away. The only thing changing is it gives them a chance to vote anywhere," Meece said.