[0:00] What's her

[0:09] Good morning, everyone. Happy

[0:11] Friday. We'll call the Marion

[0:11] County Election Board meeting

[0:15] here to order. Today.

[0:17] SEPTEMBER force. It is 10, 0,

[0:21] 4, We'll start with the round

[0:22] introductions with the board

[0:25] staff and council start with

[0:26] myself. Millions Stewart

[0:31] chair. Jennifer Hammond packs

[0:34] a virgin thing. Kids Sweeney

[0:37] Bell Secretary. Patrick

[0:39] Becker, director of elections.

[0:42] Rebels. Well, outside counsel.

[0:42] Adam Walker Corporation

[0:48] counsel. Thank you guys for

[0:50] the introductions. Get started

[0:53] The first topic on the agenda

[0:56] is the 2026 general election

[0:57] ballot ratification. Director

[1:00] Becker, can provide context?

[1:04] Thank you, MADAM So by law

[1:05] today, 60 days before the

[1:07] election are ballot is

[1:09] ratified. So there's no action

[1:09] that the board has to

[1:13] necessarily take here. You all

[1:15] received a valid proof. Number

[1:18] 3, which was sent out prior to

[1:22] the deadline of AUGUST 20 and

[1:23] that was sent all the school

[1:24] corporations as well as the

[1:25] political parties and the

[1:28] chairs and other members of er

[1:31] and members of our board, 2 of

[1:34] the school corporations did

[1:35] respond saying that they're

[1:36] question look good. That Beech

[1:38] Grove indicator, so appreciate

[1:39] their responses. No other

[1:43] responses came so at this

[1:45] point, the ballot is ratified.

[1:46] I know I I reference last week

[1:50] there is a ongoing judicial

[1:54] review that that MAY impact

[1:55] our ballot But I don't think

[1:57] we really have an update on

[1:59] that. Hopefully by next

[2:00] Friday's meeting, we have some

[2:01] sort of update from the court

[2:05] about what that looks like.

[2:06] And I would obviously defer to

[2:07] council if there are any

[2:10] questions about that. But as

[2:10] of yet, as of today, our

[2:14] ballot is ratified soon on our

[2:17] website, sample ballots will

[2:18] be available. And then over

[2:19] the next few weeks, we'll

[2:21] start the process of of

[2:24] testing and getting all of our

[2:25] machines up and running and

[2:25] getting ready to produce

[2:27] ballots from voters. If any

[2:32] questions board. Not for me.

[2:37] Comments. I just it's so much

[2:42] work to do this we have a

[2:46] staff right now, 13. And there

[2:53] are how many ballots styles.

[2:53] Were it over? Think 121200

[2:54] over 1000. I know that. So

[3:01] that is. 1000 at more than

[3:01] 1000 ballots that every

[3:03] office, every candidate for

[3:07] every office has to be right.

[3:08] Every election and they do it.

[3:10] I'm very proud of of what they

[3:12] do and so much work goes into

[3:17] it. So. And get it done. So.

[3:19] Like I said, Marion County

[3:23] with the you have to If I

[3:25] could. I'd like to to

[3:26] specifically give a shout out

[3:27] to Chad Cleerman, who's our

[3:28] our ballot admin. He's

[3:31] actually out sick today

[3:33] probably from the diligence do

[3:36] his eyes. His eyes are

[3:38] probably in he had a big

[3:39] assist this election from Bree

[3:41] Joyce is also on our full-time

[3:43] staff. I think she got a

[3:45] little bit maybe more into the

[3:47] ballot world than she thought

[3:49] she was going and they led a

[3:51] team of 8 of our temporary

[3:53] staff that go through those

[3:53] ballots. Like I said, multiple

[3:54] iterations of it. They find

[3:57] issues. We correct them. We

[3:58] come back check them again. We

[3:59] find more issues. We correct

[4:02] them. We keep going so we've

[4:03] gone through 4 rounds of that.

[4:04] And we're confident that this

[4:04] is the ballot for the fall.

[4:09] All right. Thanks special.

[4:11] Thank you to Chad. Literally

[4:14] worked use Take a time when

[4:20] you All We'll move on to the

[4:24] next agenda item I think you

[4:26] have it and things contract

[4:27] approval Director Becky Lynch

[4:28] are which contract we're

[4:31] looking at today. If thank

[4:32] you, MADAM Chair. So I sent a

[4:33] message to the but, you know,

[4:34] to the board last night with

[4:38] an update as of last evening,

[4:42] this morning, I did receive a

[4:43] quote from knowing for support

[4:47] for the fall I don't I don't

[4:48] have anything prepared for the

[4:51] board to to sign off on today.

[4:52] I would probably defer to

[4:55] council on. You could probably

[4:56] still vote to allow us to

[4:59] negotiate a contract. We're

[5:00] back in front of you again a

[5:05] week from today. So we you

[5:06] know, work over that week to

[5:08] try to figure out the the

[5:10] actual contract language and

[5:11] get something ready for you

[5:14] all to approve formally, I

[5:15] guess sign something formally

[5:19] next week. But I probably

[5:19] defer to council on on the

[5:22] best way to proceed. We do

[5:23] have a quote for support just

[5:24] for the fall election,

[5:29] although it does see the MAY

[5:29] election that they're their

[5:30] intent, I believe, is for the

[5:33] fall election. So on documents

[5:35] yet.

[5:46] like any guidance here? If you

[5:47] want to put your blessing on

[5:51] us to proceed with.

[5:52] Negotiating a contract to

[5:53] bring back to the board next

[5:57] week. That's fun. Either way.

[5:58] Mean, I know this kind of what

[5:58] the board was looking to do

[6:03] last week. Having some

[6:03] approval from the board would

[6:08] be helpful. I make a motion to

[6:12] move forward with this with an

[6:14] amendment to enter into

[6:16] negotiations for an amendment

[6:26] to this contract. I love the

[6:33] I'm saying my vote. Second.

[6:38] Yes. Second, Karl Rove vice

[6:42] chair, staying. Can show the

[6:48] Chair Voting Act. So at

[6:49] Because you negotiate over the

[6:50] weekend, then we're back on

[6:54] Friday. Says that the deadline

[6:55] to give them to come up with

[6:58] something. It it with with

[6:59] being an amendment. It should

[7:02] be pretty straightforward.

[7:10] Thank you. And Director Becker

[7:11] any updates you want to share

[7:14] why we're here today. Yes,

[7:16] thank you, MADAM First, I want

[7:18] make sure that everyone knows

[7:19] that our office will be closed

[7:22] Monday, SEPTEMBER, the 7th for

[7:24] Labor Day. And I don't think

[7:26] honoring many holidays after

[7:32] for our staff. So I mentioned

[7:33] earlier, there's pending

[7:34] information about a judicial

[7:35] review. So hopefully we have

[7:37] some update on that the next

[7:40] meeting and update on our

[7:41] operations center. The

[7:43] installation of the network

[7:45] has been completed and the

[7:47] security system is currently

[7:48] being upgraded. And as I

[7:48] mentioned last week are full

[7:49] time 20 for our security is on

[7:51] site through the end of

[7:51] NOVEMBER. Are preventive

[7:55] maintenance is completed. We

[7:56] had over 50 of our express

[7:58] votes that needed repair this

[8:00] election, all but 4 of those

[8:01] were able to be repaired and

[8:06] ready for testing. So we down

[8:14] to 2004 of those and we have

[8:15] 225 Ds, 2, 100's that were

[8:17] main maintained and ready to

[8:20] go as well as our 2 high speed

[8:21] tabulators. So again, over

[8:26] 20400 pieces of equipment and

[8:28] we were done prior to our

[8:30] deadline of today. So they

[8:31] finished a couple of days ago.

[8:32] So we met our deadline of our

[8:36] goal of of today over the next

[8:37] 2 weeks. Now that the ballot

[8:39] is ready, we will be again,

[8:40] are testing for vote by mail

[8:43] and and our voting equipment.

[8:45] And then we'll also need to

[8:47] work to get our poll books

[8:48] configured ready for testing

[8:49] for that over the next 3

[8:54] weeks. With that and then I

[8:56] wanted to give an update on

[8:58] our vote Center plan for the

[8:59] We did get confirmation from

[9:04] rocky Ripple town hall. I

[9:07] believe it was last evening

[9:08] that they are not available

[9:11] for the fall election and

[9:12] which I believe I mentioned

[9:14] last week, we were sort of

[9:16] anticipated. I didn't want let

[9:18] the public know and the board

[9:21] know there are 4 locations

[9:22] within one and a half miles of

[9:24] rocky ripple. I'd like to

[9:27] provide those planned

[9:28] locations now, which would be

[9:31] Hinkle Fieldhouse, Crooked

[9:32] Creek Baptist, Saint Paul's

[9:33] Episcopalian and Saint Thomas

[9:36] Aquinas. So those are are near

[9:39] that area we believe those

[9:40] should help, you you know,

[9:41] absorb any of the voters that

[9:42] that go to rocky ripple. They

[9:43] have a place nearby that they

[9:46] should be able to to go to. So

[9:48] that would bring our total for

[9:51] this election to 183 at this

[9:52] point that the is including we

[9:57] had 182 in the spring. First

[10:02] friends gathering has decided

[10:05] to come back to be a site in

[10:08] the fall town is happy news

[10:11] and Lucas Oil Stadium is going

[10:13] to back on for the fall as

[10:14] well. So we had to least one.

[10:19] Thank you, When so we yes,

[10:20] will plan to have that plan to

[10:24] the board for their review.

[10:27] Early next week. And have that

[10:30] ready to vote on for Friday.

[10:32] And then the last thing I

[10:32] wanted to mention, I'm sure

[10:36] the clerk will mention this

[10:36] pork or recruiting is

[10:37] underway. We have set out our

[10:40] save the date cards to the

[10:42] inspectors that work in the

[10:44] last election, asking them to

[10:45] save the date, asking them if

[10:47] they're interested again. So

[10:48] this is kind of our soft

[10:50] launch of our pork or

[10:51] recruiting operations. And

[10:52] those operations will start

[10:53] picking up over the next few

[10:54] weeks. So if you're interested

[10:57] being a poll worker, you know,

[10:58] please reach out to us and

[11:01] we'll get you signed up

[11:02] greatest experience of your

[11:04] life. And that's all I have

[11:08] food for the thank you.

[11:09] Recognize medical alert. The

[11:12] fda to ensure because I I sea.

[11:14] So happy that first friends is

[11:18] back. I When when they

[11:23] declined in. The primary, it

[11:27] was very disconcerting and I

[11:30] just that's very happy news.

[11:31] And what it what a way start

[11:35] the weekend. We are as of this

[11:36] state 60 days from the

[11:38] election. From the general

[11:44] election. But we days away

[11:48] from ballots being mailed out.

[11:49] There weeks were not just it's

[11:54] less than 7 days, are. First

[11:57] tranche of ballots. Does

[12:01] anyone who has requested been

[12:04] approved to vote absentee by

[12:07] mail. Those are required to be

[12:09] out by the 19th, but they're

[12:16] going out on the 18th so if if

[12:17] you're watching and you have

[12:18] requested an absentee ballot,

[12:22] you submit an application.

[12:23] Check. Check your mailbox

[12:26] because it's coming your way

[12:27] and there is still time we

[12:31] have a you shouldn't delay. If

[12:33] you're going to ask for an

[12:35] absentee ballot, if you want

[12:37] to vote by mail, get that

[12:40] application in. And so it can

[12:43] be reviewed and approved or

[12:44] sent back to you to correct

[12:48] some errors because there are,

[12:50] you know, we mail it to you

[12:51] and you mail it back or you

[12:54] can drop it off at vote center

[12:55] up until 6 o'clock on Election

[13:01] Day. We encourage everyone to

[13:02] confirm their voter

[13:04] registration. They can do that

[13:07] at Indiana voters dot com. And

[13:12] if anyone who has a Indiana I

[13:15] d issued by the state they can

[13:16] register to vote there. And

[13:19] that is again, Indiana voters

[13:21] dot com or they can call the

[13:22] Marion County Board of Voter

[13:24] Registration and maybe talk to

[13:28] Jen at 3, 1, 7, 3 to 7, 5, 0,

[13:32] 4, 0, That's the office of the

[13:34] Board of Voter Registration.

[13:35] We're still looking for poll

[13:40] workers. We. Have to fill

[13:43] thousands of positions and

[13:45] folks can sign up at poll

[13:47] worker Indy dot Gov. And I'm

[13:48] going to repeat that poll

[13:55] worker. Indy dot Gov or they

[13:57] could go old school and call

[14:01] us at 3, 1, 3, 2, 7, 5, 1, 0,

[14:05] 0 its option for to save them.

[14:08] A few seconds of waiting

[14:08] again, it's 3 to 7, 5100

[14:15] option for. And anyone who

[14:17] wants to work early voting,

[14:19] which opens here at the city

[14:21] County building on OCTOBER 6.

[14:23] Please contact your political

[14:26] parties. Those are the ones

[14:28] assigned the workers to us.

[14:31] First France. They're back

[14:32] first for their back. Welcome

[14:34] back. First, friends. We could

[14:40] anything there's been a lot in

[14:44] the news what's going to

[14:45] happen this election across

[14:49] the country. And I want to

[14:53] reassure all voters that we

[14:56] are prepared and we will use

[14:58] every legal tool available to

[15:01] us as we do every election to

[15:03] ensure that voters are safe

[15:05] and poll workers are safe and

[15:08] the sites are secure and that

[15:11] voting in Marion County.

[15:16] Honest and secure. We

[15:18] appreciate all the work you do

[15:19] as well as your team to make

[15:21] sure that is true for Marion

[15:23] County. It's it's a group

[15:27] effort with a lot him with

[15:30] folks from our office members

[15:31] of local law enforcement

[15:33] across multiple agencies. It's

[15:38] it's good to have such.

[15:39] Capable, competent, effective

[15:40] team. The percent for such an

[15:46] important. To do. Yeah,

[15:47] hopefully, hey, we might even

[15:47] get over 50% of turnout this

[15:52] year. Because it's a straight.

[15:56] Stretch goals are great. We're

[15:57] ready for over 630,000

[15:57] registered voters to come cast

[15:59] their ballot. Literally, if

[16:06] you can. Are, as we mentioned

[16:09] before the next scheduled next

[16:10] week, SEPTEMBER. 11th at

[16:14] 10:00am and so I think that's

[16:16] the agenda for today's all

[16:17] asked for a motion to adjourn.

[16:20] I move. The journey. Thanks,

Marion County Election Board

Agenda

Transcript