Paper ballots 'simple and easy to do' for primary voters

RICHMOND, Ind. — Wayne County voters used pen and paper Tuesday to cast their primary election ballots.

Filled in squares and a ballot scanner replaced the previous electronic voting machines used in past elections.

"It was fine with me; no problems at all," said voter Joe L. Smith after casting his ballot at First English Lutheran Church. "It was simple and easy to do."

Beverly Mantalvo agreed that voting was "very easy" at the First Baptist Church vote center.

"All you have to do is read the instructions," she said. "For people not into technical things, it's much easier."

When replacing their voting systems, Indiana counties must now purchase systems that provide a verified paper trail for each ballot. The state Secretary of State's office, under two secretaries, paid for Wayne County's new equipment. There was no Wayne County election during 2021, providing time to make the switch.

"I prefer the other, but I understand the need for some type of system to verify," said Mark Harrington after voting at First English Lutheran Church. "It worked fine."

Jeff Geres also voted early Tuesday at First English.

"It went OK," he said. "I kind of miss the old machines, but there were no problems."

During the primary election, voters choose a Republican or a Democrat ballot to select candidates for the fall general election. Only seven Republican races overall were contested, and only four were county-wide. There was only one contested race for Democrats.

Clerk Debbie Berry said Tuesday that 2,241 residents voted by mail or in-person prior to Tuesday.

Polls were scheduled to close at 6 p.m. Tuesday. See www.pal-item.com and Thursday's Palladium-Item print edition for election results.

At the voter centers Tuesday, a voter checked in as before, but instead of receiving a number that's entered into a voting machine to access a ballot, a specific paper ballot for the voter's precinct is printed. When finished filling in the appropriate squares — check marks and X's don't work — the voter scans the ballot for it to be counted, and the ballot drops into a box beneath the scanner. The ballot is stored in case of a dispute or recount.

Geres said he doesn't necessarily think the election is more secure under the new system, but he's willing to use any secure system.

Smith also supports measures, such as the paper trail, that help secure elections.

"Absolutely," he said. "I'm all for getting people's identity to make sure they should be voting."

Patti Dole served as the poll inspector Tuesday at the Kuhlman Center. She also worked that vote center during early voting.

"It's gone great," she said of the paper ballots. "The system, everybody seems to really like it."

Dole said voters in previous years had asked about paper backups to ensure votes were counted. Now, the paper ballots have eased the job of poll workers and quickened voting.

"It's a lot easier," she said of the voting. "All they have to do is fill out the paper. We don't have to help them figure out the machines. That's what takes a lot of time."

The biggest problem, Dole said, has been voter turnout.

Tuesday's voting started slowly at Kuhlman Center and First English, normally the two busiest vote centers. Each site saw a trickle of voters braving the rain. Later Tuesday morning, though, First Baptist Church, one of the smaller vote centers, had five voters at once filling out ballots.

Candidates and their supporters also battled the rain. At First English, a cluster stood huddled under umbrellas in the driveway away from the poll entrance. At First Baptist, one supporter wore a rain poncho and stood on the corner of South A and South 16th streets.

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Indiana primary election 2022: Paper ballots 'simple and easy to do'