WARRICK COUNTY DEMOCRATS BLOCK SATELLITE VOTING FOR THE 2010 GENERAL ELECTION

Boonville – The Warrick County Election Board met last night to address several issues pertaining to the upcoming general election, including a resolution to provide Satellite Voting locations in Newburgh and Lynnville. The resolution, which required unanimous approval of the board, was defeated when Don Lee, the representative for the Warrick County Democrat Party, voted against the resolution. Board President Bernie Montgomery, a Republican appointee to the board, and Clerk Sarah Topper vote in favor of the resolution. The resolution, if passed, would have made the Ohio Township Central Library and the Lynnville Community Center available for voters to cast their ballots at those locations on October 19,21, 26 & 28 from noon until 6:00pm. One person, Bob Gober, appeared before the election board to voice opposition to the resolution, and expressed concern over the cost to operate the satellite locations. Several individuals supportive of the resolution, including Warrick County Republican Chairman Rick Martin, appeared at the meeting and addressed the board. Martin countered Gober’s cost concerns by pointing out that, in the Spring, the Clerk had advised that the cost to operate the Lynnville Satellite Office would amount to less than $1,000 and the cost to operate the Newburgh Satellite Office would be similar. Martin said that “[w]e need to be smart with our spending and cut wasteful items such as the duplication of poll workers on election day, so that we can spend taxpayer dollars on things like satellite voting that truly benefit the taxpayer.” After the meeting, Chairman Martin expressed his disappointment in the decision of the election board. “It seems like the Warrick County Democrats don’t want the voter’s to come to the polls and vote this fall. It’s a shame that the Democrat Party chooses to stand in the way of progress and is denying the voters of Warrick County access to satellite voting that was wildly successful in 2008 and will be available to voters in Vanderburgh County this fall.” Chairman Martin also indicated that we may not have heard the last of this issue yet: “After this setback, we are looking at our options, including the option of appealing the decision to the Warrick Circuit Court. In any event, I hope that the voters of Warrick County will not be deterred by the efforts of the Democrats and will come out and vote on Election Day.”