Vote centers come of age.

• Position: TRENDS & TRANSITIONS

Vote centers are cropping up all over the country. Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Utah now permit counties or jurisdictions to use or experiment with them.

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What are they? They are an Election Day alternative to neighborhood-based polling places. Unlike a traditional precinct polling place, voters can choose which vote center they'd like to use, regardless of where they live.

Scott Doyle, county clerk in Larimer County, Colo., came up with the idea and the term in 2000, when legally registered voters showed up at the wrong precincts, and were directed to the courthouse as a last recourse. A line formed, and police barred the door at 7 p.m., leaving motivated voters without a ballot.

Doyle, on behalf of the Colorado County Clerks Association, went to the legislature, explained the new concept, and got the innovative idea passed in 2002. The next year, the inaugural 31 vote centers replaced the traditional 143 precincts in Latimer County. By most accounts, the new system worked. Voters didn't need to know their precinct location; fewer poll workers (and thus fewer dollars) were required; and no one was turned away and sent to the courthouse.

Now, eight years after that first experiment in Colorado, many states are embracing the concept. In the world of election policy, that's lightning-fast acceptance.

Why are vote centers so popular? Because they offer these advantages: "convenience, convenience, convenience," says Senator Ron Alting of Indiana, who sponsored successful legislation this year to permit all Indiana counties to use them. Besides convenience, Alting...