Purdue, Tippecanoe County elections board proposes voting center after criticism

Purdue University announced a potential on-campus voting center after receiving backlash over the lack of accessible polling sites for the 2024 general election.

A joint statement from the university and the Tippecanoe County Board of Elections proposed the Córdova Recreational Sports Center as an early voting site for the upcoming election.

“Purdue never said no and we never said no,” Tippecanoe County election board staff member Mike Smith said. “It’s just, they weren’t ready. They did not have sites cleared and all the boxes checked off.”

This announcement comes after the university received criticism for not having any polling sites on the West Lafayette campus.

Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl says the lack of voting sites hinders young voters' ability to cast a ballot.

“We have great young people that are going to Purdue, IU, Ball State, Notre Dame, and we want them to be good voters, regardless of their politics,” he said. “It's just good for democracy and It's good for our country.”

Indiana’s youth voter turnout declined by about 9% from 2018 to 2022.

The proposed location will provide further access to voting for students and faculty on the campus, according to the joint statement. There are also two other polling locations near the campus that are accessible to the college community.

The election board will meet on September 27 to vote on the proposal.

Indiana’s voter registration deadline is October 7 and early voting begins October 8.

Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Abriana Herron at aherron@wfyi.org.