2024 was a busy year for the Berrien County Clerk’s office.
Clerk Stacy Loar-Porter addressed the Berrien County Board of Commissioners Thursday with her annual report. She said the clerk’s office last year issued 1,332 birth certificates, 1,749 death certificates, and 1,129 marriage licenses. It also managed elections, a big task with all the state and federal races being decided.
With nine days of early voting now required by state law for state and federal elections, Loar-Porter said the word started to get out as the year went on. In February’s primaries, only 465 early ballots were cast, and in August, the number was 398.
“We saw not as many turnout for the early voting, but it definitely caught on in November,” Loar-Porter said. “We saw a very large increase. 13,000 came in, voted early, cast their ballots at the early voting sites.”
Loar-Porter said the county managed to secure $226,000 from the state for early voting last year, but she doubts that support will continue. She wants to centralize the process.
“One of my big goals is to relocate the early voting sites and reduce to one location to save the county municipality and the residents money. If we can find a location that is owned by the county, that we do not have to pay rent on or lease, this is a huge increase. And also if we can get all of our equipment in one building, it saves a ton of money and labor.”
The county last year held early voting at locations in both Niles and Benton Harbor. Loar-Porter said other goals for the new year include improving the office’s use of facilities to be more efficient, acquiring new vital records software, and hire more staff at competitive wages.
