Chief Deputy Clerk Kathy Hartwig tests one of Porter County's 280 marking devises at a test of county election equipment on Friday. (Shelley Jones / Post-Tribune)

In a windowless basement storage room the Porter County Election Board and members of the Porter County Clerk’s staff gathered early Friday morning to test out the county’s election equipment in advance of the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The state of Indiana requires the county to test 10 percent of its machines.

The warm, electronic smell of many machines plugged in side by side was similar to the aroma of baked goods. In all, the county has 150 DS200 tabulators and 280 marking devices, as well as a high-speed counter. While the exercise may not have been as pleasant as a trip to the corner bakery, outcomes were good.

The machines were purchased for a few million dollars in 2019 and have a life expectancy of about 10 years. It will take seven or eight trucks with two drivers and one election worker per truck, to place the machines the day before the election. The election board partners with the Porter County Highway Department for this day-long task. Then they do it in reverse the day after the election.

Porter County Election Board Vice President Ethan Lowe and Board Member David Bengs assist in testing Porter County's vote tabulator equipment on Friday. (Shelley Jones / Post-Tribune)

Porter County Clerk and Election Board Secretary Jessica Bailey explained the physical procedure of voting in regards to the different machines used and how they process the ballot card, as well as a couple of areas in the process that tend to confuse some voters. When voters arrive at the polling place, their addresses will be checked. This allows poll workers to provide voters with the appropriate ballot based on their precinct.

A ballot card with a barcode is then given to the voter. When this is entered into the marking device, the barcode is read and the machine knows which races to present to the voter. For example, some races, such as those for school board, will vary depending on where a voter lives. Voters who are interested in determining their precinct or who’s on the ballot for that precinct can visit www.indianavoters.com.

Bailey cautions voters not to get upset if the marking machine gives them an exclamation point after they have made their selections. This is just letting voters know that they did not exercise all of their options, perhaps they only voted for one candidate for a race when up to three were allowed.

“If you see an exclamation point it’s just telling you, ‘Hey, I want you to know that you have other options.’ It’s not saying that you did anything wrong,” Bailey said.

When voting is complete, voters must hit the “Print Card” button and the marking device will spit the ballot card back out. The voter must then take it to a tabulator and insert it there.

“Just make sure that you’re putting the ballot into the tabulator,” Bailey said. “Porter County does not give a receipt (unlike Illinois). Your vote is not counted until you put it into a tabulator.”

All these preparations and explanations of warning labels aim to educate the public on what are normal parts of this electronic process. When asked if he’s heard any rumblings of voter concern over election integrity in Porter County, Election Board Member Jeff Chidester said, “None at all.”

Porter County Election Board Vice President Ethan Lowe and other county officials test the county's election equipment Friday. (Shelley Jones / Post-Tribune)

Bailey said there were more concerns in years past, but as we’ve moved a couple years out from the last presidential election, concerns have quieted. With two more years until the next presidential election, it’s just a matter of getting people educated on the process, she said. Public tests of the election equipment that are open to the public have helped, according to Bailey.

“It calms their fears about what they hear in the national elections, a lot of which doesn’t apply to us,” Bailey said.

Every tabulator has a blue box that collects the ballots. A bipartisan team with a key locks the box and personally escorts it to the Porter County Expo Center where the returns are released on electronic screens and also updated to the county election website multiple times throughout the night.

If waiting until election day isn’t your style, the county has a host of early voting options.

“Early voting increases every single year. That’s why we expanded this year,” Bailey said. “Normally we have five (locations). This year we have seven.”

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

Early voting begins at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 12th and runs through Monday, Nov. 7th at noon. Times and days are as follows: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturday, Oct. 29th and Nov. 5th from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Early voting centers are as follows: Chesterton Town Hall, 790 Broadway, Chesterton, IN 46304; Hebron Community Center, 611 N. Main St., Hebron, IN 46341; North County Complex, 3560 Willowcreek Rd., Portage, IN 46368; Porter County Administration Building, 155 Indiana Ave., Suite 102A, Valparaiso, IN 46383; Union Township Fire Station #2, 267 N 600 W, Valparaiso, IN 46385; US Steel Workers Hall, 1100 Max Mochal Hwy. (St. Rd. 149), Chesterton, IN 46304; and the Valparaiso Fire Training Center, 355 Evans Ave., Valparaiso, IN 46383.

Mobile voting will take place on Wednesdays, Oct 12th through Nov. 2nd, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Kouts Public Library, 101 E. Daumer Rd., Kouts, IN 46347. The South Haven Public Library will host mobile voting on Saturday, Oct. 29th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in its parking lot at 403 W 700 N, Valparaiso, IN 46385. Jamestown Apartments will host mobile voting on Saturday, Nov. 5th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in its parking lot at 2810 Winchester Dr., Valparaiso, IN 46383.