County commission maintains its stance on polling places
By Daniel Arens
It’s election year in 2018, and for Mercer County, the big question has been the location and number of polling places in the county.
Earlier this year, the commission approved reducing the number of polling places to one site in the county. The rationale of the decision came after Auditor Shana Brost informed the commission they could save nearly $20,000 by the reduction. In addition, the increased use of vote-by-mail meant the commission felt that, logistically, one polling place would be enough.
The commission’s decision calls for hosting the single polling place in either Hazen or Beulah, on a rotating basis. For 2018, Beulah will be the host city. Since that point, the Hazen City Commission has considered whether they wanted to establish their own polling place, at their own cost, or go along with the county plan, which would include providing city busing service for residents to get to Beulah if they wanted to vote at the polls.
