Work Session on Elections 9:00 AM 7/22/05

Notes on the work session taken by Don Pyle, Deputy Clerk.

Mr. Wilson presented materials on the equipment and legislation to the commissioners. HR 3295 deals with machines that are available. Mr. Wilson stated that he would be happy to answer questions from the commissioners. He further stated that to be in compliance with HAVA it was necessary to have machines for casting ballots and reading the ballots, and some of the machines do both functions. A discussion of the various configurations of equipment followed. Mr. Wilson pointed out that most of the voters in Crawford County like to have the ballot in their hand before it is counted. He recommended a separate ballot marking machine and ballot counter as the configuration that would work best for us. He mentioned that some of these machines would be on display in Crawford County in the next couple of weeks.

Mr. Pichler asked if the machines costing $5,000 were on the sheet. Mr. Wilson answered that the marking machine cost $5,000 and the scanner cost $5,300 for a total of $10,300 per polling place. The election budget would increase by just over $50,000 for next year.

Mr. Wilson gave the commissioners a packet of all the materials we have printed in order to take care of elections. Mr. Wilson mentioned that most of the printing is done by Lockwood and Rapco and had copies of the invoices for last year’s printing. He explained that next year there will be at least 2 elections and possibly 3 for the year. He discussed the spreadsheet prepared by the clerk’s office of cost projections for next year. He first discussed the projections for having machines for 50 polling places. He explained that if we have 3 elections next year the first election will be a constitutional amendment election for the state. He mentioned that historically the state has paid for these types of elections but that is not guaranteed. The actual cost of insuring machines would be less than on the spreadsheet as they had been given an estimate from the county’s insurance agent that morning. He also explained that the cost of mover could actually be negotiated to a slightly better rate. He discussed that using a bonded mover could help in replacing equipment damaged while moving. He explained that the Secretary of State office has made some estimates of help they will be giving the counties in purchasing voting equipment. The most current estimate is that the SOS office will supply the county with 14 machines. He then discussed the cost of elections for 2 or 3 elections if the SOS office purchases the 14 machines for us. He explained that he is not here to discuss closing polling places but that he needs to give the commissioner cost estimates to help them make the best decision for the county. He stated he would be ready to discuss this with voters if needed.

Mr. Pichler asked if the cost of the elections is directly dependent on the number of polling places open. He further stated that most of the public would understand closing polling places in order to save money for the county. Mr. Pichler asked how we were going to make a decision when we don’t know what amount of help we will be getting. Mr. Wilson stated that there is no way we can know. Mr. Kmiec wondered when the first election would be and if we could have machines and people ready to run the first election of the year. Mr. Pichler asked if the state would pick the machines we could use and was answered that the state would provide a list of machines. Mr. Moody asked if the machines would be on the list and was answered that since they were working with the SOS office they would most likely be on the list. Mr. Wilson further stated that he did not know of any other marking machines. Mr. Pichler asked what the life of these machines would be and was answered that most of them were estimated to run for 15 years but that the purchases were calculated on 5 year leases since it is not known how the law will change. Mr. Pichler asked if advance voting would be the same and was answered that they would still be mailed out the same way but that they would be machine counted. Mr. Wilson answered Mr. Pichler that with the Automark system the voters can still mark their ballot by hand, just like they always have, but if they wish to see the ballot better then they can use the machine to magnify the print before marking. Mr. Pichler asked if he was budgeting for 2 or 3 elections. Mr. Wilson stated that he could budget for only 2 elections but the commission should be aware that there could be another election that the county would pay for. The commission would have to figure how to pay for the additional election, if necessary. Mr. Wilson went through the projections for the budget for 25 polling places. He also went through the budget for 50 polling places.

Mr. Pichler stated that he thought Mr. Wilson needed to give the commission his best estimate and the commission would take it under consideration. Mr. Wilson stated that his best budget would be $338,465 for 2006. This would be for 25 polling places and he felt that the county will have to look at consolidation sometime in the future. Mr. Wilson added that the latest trend is for polling places at retail locations. Mr. Pichler wondered when the SOS will be able to give us their best estimate on help and was answered that it would have to be by October. Mr. Moody asked what would happen if we are not ready by the first election and was answered that at that point the US Dept. of Justice would come into the county and would scrutinize all of the actions of the elections dept. Not only would the county face additional scrutiny but there could be the possibility of losing federal and state grants. Mr. Pichler asked what he thought about the public’s acceptance of reduced polling places. Mr. Wilson stated that he thought that would be acceptable and that he had already come up with a workable plan for consolidating to 25 polling places without displacing voters too much. They also discussed the need for controlled storage for these machines and if there was any available and how costly it would be.

Mr. Wilson added that he would need to leave to go to Westar in Topeka to give a presentation on the Power Plant. He also added that the polling place consolidation might also split some of the largest polling places in Pittsburg that are too crowded already. The Board asked Mr. Wilson to look into polling place consolidation and he said that by the end of the month he would start the necessary public comment opportunities so a thoughtful discussion could be held on the subject. Mr. Wilson stated that he has no pre-determined ideas about polling place consolidation and that he is willing to hear all sides of the argument before making any final judgment. He said that public comment will be important in this discussion.