Twenty-four more votes made their way into the final count of Porter County’s 2012 primary election, bringing the overall voting figure to 23,571 or 21.3 percent of the county’s registered voters.

The Porter County Election Board certified the election results on Friday 10 days after the election, which complies with a law that says results are due to the Indiana Election Division by Monday afternoon.

There were 22 provisional ballots, or ballots that were held back until a voter could confirm eligibility ten days after an election, which the board certified. There were six provisional ballots counted in Westchester Twp. (one each from Westchester precincts 1 and 8, two each from Westchester precincts 10 and 14). Eleven were from Center Twp., four from Portage Twp. and one from Morgan Twp.

Two mail-in ballots were counted since they met the deadline of being post-marked by May 8, the day of the election.

Five voters with provisional ballots did not verify their eligibility with the voter registration office and eight mail-in ballots did not meet the deadline.

No races were tipped by the official count. The election’s closest race, the Duneland Schools tax referendum, got just a little tighter in the official results with four more no votes and two more yes votes.

Voter Registration directors Democrat Kathy Kozuszek and Republican Sundae Schoon said there was one complaint issued after the election. The complaint was made because former Burns Harbor town marshal Jerry Price had not yet switched his voter registration over to his new address.

Price, a Republican, had been challenged by Burns Harbor Clerk-Treasurer Jane Jordan after the 2011 town elections alleging he was a registered voter in the Portage 6 precinct instead of Westchester 11. Price said in days after that election he received mail and was registered to vote at an address in Westchester 11.

The election board eventually dismissed the challenge but asked Price to change his voting address to the address where he resides in Portage 6. County Election Board president Patrick Lyp on Friday asked the voter registration office to contact Price again and remind him the change in his voter address needs to be made.

In a separate matter, the Chesterton early voting site which opened at the town hall for the first time this year will be open again for this year’s November general elections, Kozuszek said. Although there were no official counts taken, Kozuszek said more voters were seen at the Chesterton Town Hall than the county’s other two early voting locations – the voter registration office in Valparaiso and the North Government Complex in Portage.

“There was a push to come out to vote for the referendum and that’s why those numbers were higher,” said Kozuszek.

Lyp said those who came out to vote solely on the referendum made up 2.58 percent of voters countywide. There were 608 non-partisan ballots cast, he said.

Kozuszek said her office will start “canvassing the vote” over the next few days – taking record of who voted in the primary election. Registration will open again on Tuesday, May 22, for the November election with the last day to register being Oct. 9. Seventeen-year-olds can register if they turn age 18 before Nov. 6.

Meanwhile, political parties have until July 3 to fill vacancies on the county ballots. Open races include Porter County Commissioner North District (no Democrat filed) and county treasurer (no Republican filed).

Indiana citizens can file a petition of nomination for school board from July 25 to August 24.

For the Duneland School Board, the Jackson Township seat and one at-large seat will be on the ballot in the November election.

Posted 5/21/2012