By DAVE SCHULTZ
Members of the Wells County Election Board are considering the use of a special fund for the future purchase of election equipment
County Clerk Beth Davis noted that the current MicroVote system, which was purchased in 2004, will soon be approaching 20 years in use. The board members — Roy Johnson, Larry Sell, and Davis — are trying to be proactive.
The establishment of any such fund would depend on members of the Wells County Council, and Davis will have to take the proposal to a council meeting for its approval.
The discussion about setting up a fund followed a recommendation from Davis that the board approve purchasing five new routers for the current system, at a cost of $1,,250, and the realization that vendor rates are going up — and she added an extra $1,000 into the 2023 budget.
“I think it be wise to establish a fund,” Davis said.
Davis said a referendum for providing extra funding for Southern Wells Community Schools — a request to voters that was initially approved in 2009 and was renewed in 2016 — could complicate matters. Since 2003 is now a year for municipal elections only, the county’s vote plan does not include opening the Southern Wells Community Church as a vote center. However, she said, it was possible the school district could push to include the referendum on this year’s general election ballot in November, if they have the referendum question certified by Aug. 1.
Davis also told her fellow board members that the state has approved a plan on the disposal of the county’s old poll books. The electronic devices must be destroyed, she said; they can never be put to any other use.
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