Lake County election board defers Gary polling location change
The Lake County Board of Elections and Registration voted to postpone Gary’s voting location change after Republican members asked the GOP precinct chairman to intervene.
Michael Brown, chairman of the Steel City Gary precinct organization and Lake County clerk, said the committee would like the polling location from Pachter Park Pavilion to be moved to Love Feast of God in Christ Church, 2456 Chase Street in Gary, according to an Oct. 15 letter he submitted to the Lake County Board of Elections and Director of Registration, Michelle Fajman.
Fajman said at Tuesday’s meeting that the Pachter Park pavilion location has no water or functioning toilets during the 2024 presidential election. Gary city officials have told election officials they have no plans to make any improvements to the pavilion, Fajman said.
Jessica Messler, deputy director of the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration, recommended that the polling location be moved to Frankie Woods McCullough Academy, 3757 W. 21st Avenue, Gary.
In a report to the school board, Messler said the school complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act, would not charge rental fees and was a 12-minute walk from the nearest train station. In 2024, Lake County paid $14,500 to rent private polling places, such as union halls or churches,
Brown said the precinct committee preferred Love Feast Church because it is also ADA compliant with a “more convenient” location.
“I live in Gary. From my perspective as a precinct committeeman and chairman and as a citizen, it’s the best place,” Brown said.
Republican board member Mike Mellon said Republican leaders considered the school the best option because it is ADA compliant and includes “free rent.”
Board member Mara Candelaria Reardon said she understands the savings of having a voting location inside a school building. But she doesn’t support putting polling places inside schools “in today’s political climate,” Candelaria Reardon said.
“I don’t think it’s that great,” Candelaria Reardon said.
The idea of not using schools in an election seemed “horrifying” to him, Mellon said. Candelaria Reardon said she was expressing her opinion and not board policy.
Several districts in Northwest Indiana are hosting online learning days around the primary and general elections. Students are therefore not present in the building to avoid security problems.
Board attorney Michael Tolbert said that as someone who grew up in Gary, he thought the church was more convenient to be near the highway and was safer than the school.
Fajman said the polling location change would be made for the 2026 election. Mellon said that gave the board time to consider the change.
The board voted 5-0 to postpone the polling location change until the November meeting after Mellon requested that the Republican precinct committee chair could intervene.
akukulka@post-trib.com
