INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Time is running out on Indiana's experiment with vote centers, which allow voters to cast their ballots at any county voting site instead of traditional precinct polling places.

A pilot program that allowed Cass, Tippecanoe and Wayne counties to use vote centers will end next year. Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita again plans to seek legislation to expand the concept to any county that wants it.

"Not only are vote centers a good idea for voting in the 21st century, but it's a good way to curb local government costs," said Rokita, a Republican.

Vote centers can save counties money by allowing election officials to staff fewer polling places on Election Day. And many voters like the convenience of being able to cast a ballot at a church near their house, at a downtown building on their lunch break or at a supermarket before grocery shopping.

Some caution that the concept may not work everywhere. With fewer polling places, many people have to travel farther to vote, which is a problem for those without transportation. Under the vote center pilot program, counties are required to have at least one vote center for every 10,000 active voters.

Lawmakers considered a bill during the 2008 session that would have allowed any Indiana county to create vote centers. The Republican-controlled Senate approved the measure, but it stalled when majority House Democrats added a contentious amendment that would have allowed any voter to request a mail-in absentee ballot.

Republicans typically oppose attempts to expand mail-in absentee ballots — which were in play during the widespread 2003 Lake County vote fraud that led the Indiana Supreme Court to overturn the East Chicago mayoral primary.

House Elections and Apportionment Committee chairman Rep. Kreg Battles, D-Vincennes, said he doesn't plan to drop the so-called "no excuse" absentee ballot expansion.

"I do think that no-excuse absentee voting is part of this whole plan," Battles said. "We should be doing everything we possibly can to encourage folks to vote, to make that process as easy as possible. But the key point is we still have to maintain the integrity of the vote."

Meanwhile, Democrats have raised concerns about Tippecanoe County vote centers during the recount of a legislative race. The party eventually conceded defeat, but state Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said Rokita will have to answer questions about reported irregularities with electronic poll books before the House would consider reauthorizing or expanding vote centers.

Rokita's office called those allegations partisan.