Wanda English Burnett
Editor

Ripley County Clerk Mary Ann McCoy noted there are some changes taking place that voters need to be aware of for this year’s election.

First, voters can now register to vote online by going to www.indianavoters.com. You can submit a voter registration application electronically.

“This is yet another exciting example of how our voting process is becoming simpler and more convenient by incorporating the tools and technologies Hoosiers use everyday,” Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita noted.

McCoy agreed, saying her office is always interested in making things more convenient for the voters.
Indiana residents with a valid driver’s license or Indiana state-issued identification card, will be able register online or to update an existing registration record.

Before voters most commonly registered by mail using a paper-based application form or registered in person.

McCoy still welcomes people to come into her office located on the second floor of the courthouse in Versailles. “They can still come in to register to vote,” she told the Osgood Journal. However, the online option is just a convenience for voters.

The online procedure is the result of legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2009 with bipartisan support. According to information from Rokita’s office, states who have adopted this option have seen a 60 to 70 percent shift away from paper-based registrations over time.

Applicants will be required to verify their voting eligibility and personal information, which will then be cross-referenced with databases from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Voters will instantly receive a confirmation of their application, which they can print.

Once the online confirmation is complete, the county’s voter registration office will approve or reject registrations, subject to the same criteria used for other applicants, such as residency or incarceration following conviction of a crime.

Indiana residents will have until midnight on October 4, 2010 to register in order to participate in the November 2010 General Election.

Another change coming up in Ripley County is the polling location changes.

Diane Macek, Election Deputy, has released the following changes for polling places:

Those in Brown Township, precincts 1 and 2, formerly voted at Rosewood Reception Center, Cross Plains, will now be at the Friendship Fire Station, Friendship.

Voters in Franklin Township, 3rd precinct, formerly voted at the Saint Charles Church, Milan. They will now vote at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Fellowship Hall, Stumpke’s Corner.

Johnson Township voters, precincts 1,2, and 3, who formerly voted at the Masonic Lodge in Versailles, will now vote at the Versailles Baptist Church.

And the last change is for voters in Washington Township, precinct 1. They used to vote at the Community Building in Elrod. Precinct 2 used to vote at the Saint Charles Church in Milan. Now both precincts will vote at the Elrod Washington Baptist Church Life Center.

Lastly, McCoy reminds candidates wanting to file for school board vacancies that the deadline is this Friday, August 20 at noon.

There are three school districts that have seats up for election this fall. They include:

South Ripley Community School Corporation, districts 1,2,4,and 5; Batesville Community School Corporation (these are ones that file in Ripley County), district 1, 2 and 4; and Sunman Dearborn Community School Corporation (these are to be filed in Dearborn County), districts 1,4,5, and 6.
For more information about the school board filings you can call 812-689-6115.