Malm votes firmly in opposition

Recognizing the cost for holding polling stations for all of our areas, this is something that I’ve opposed with the combined polling since I started on the board. I think that this is something that can be looked at.”

Vice Chair Stephanie Malm

Hedin urges quick decision

If that’s a point of interest for future boards, that’s been documented, and that information is available. This is an action that needs to be taken.”

Hastings School Board Chair Lisa Hedin

The Hastings School Board may switch future elections to even-numbered years.

The elections – like the one held Nov. 7 – are now held in odd-numbered years. That means the school district foots the entire bill to staff polling stations, which leads to combined polling places.

In the Nov. 7 election, Hastings voters cast ballots by ward at three Hastings churches. Voters from Nininger Township voted with Hastings voters at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. Voters from the one ward of Hastings and the cities of Vermillion, Hampton, Miesville and New Trier and townships of Marshan, Vermillion, Ravenna, Douglas and Hampton voted at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Hastings, as did voters from Afton, Denmark and Welch.

District residents residing in Rosemount were able to vote at their regular polling place because of a special city election.

The school board has discussed switching to even-year elections, where voters would cast ballots at their regular polling places. In the even-year elections, municipal, state and federal races could be on the ballot, meaning it would cost the school district less to share the cost of running the elections.

Hastings School Board Chair Lisa Hedin said it’s a topic for the next board to take up, with four new members being seated in January. The topic will be taken up likely next summer, board members said.

Board members expressed concern about the combined polling places requiring voters to travel significant distance to vote.

“I’ve heard rumblings about this concern that there’s the combined polling place because it is ‘voter suppression.’ Superintendent Champa, if you want to cover what you already covered today of just the cost of human collateral involved in attempting to hold a school board election at all polling places?” asked Director Carrie Tate.

Champa responded, “If we had it in all polling locations, that’s 25 sites. Having a head judge and election judges, it’s about $2,600 per site or $71,000 collectively. That is just the dollar amount, right? That’s not the people power that goes beyond that.”

Hedin said the decision needs to be made fairly quickly if that’s the direction the board wants to take.

“We did have a conversation as a board about the process to move to even year elections. If that’s a point of interest for future boards, that’s been documented, and that information is available. This is an action that needs to be taken,” she said.

Vice Chair Stephanie Malm was firmly against the combined polling places.

“Recognizing the cost for holding polling stations for all of our areas, this is something that I’ve opposed with the combined polling since I started on the board,” said Malm. “I think that this is something that can be looked at. I don’t think we need to have 25 sites, but I think we need to expand a little further given the area that we cover. I’m looking at Denmark Township or Ravenna. There’s a lot of areas that are not covered. With our aging population, I want to make sure that voting spots are accessible to everybody. I recognize this is a really tricky point for me because it costs money, but I also want to make sure that people have access, and one of the biggest complaints that I’ve heard from our townships is ‘Why do I have to drive 20 miles to get to a voting location?’ It’s just a concern.”

The board annually has to pass a resolution setting the combined polling places, and that was on the agenda for November. While it will be discussed further in 2024, the board voted to approve combined polling places, with Malm voting in opposition.