1006 of the Marion County Election Board.

Before we get started, we'll do introductions.

We'll start with the board.

Staff and council, starting with myself, Nolita Stewart, Chair.

Good morning, Jennifer Ping, Vice Chair.

Kate Sweeney Bill, Secretary.

Patrick Becker, Director of Elections.

Brad Boswell, outside counsel.

Alan Gavavich from the Office of Corporation Council.

Okay.

Good morning, uh everyone, and thanks for everyone for being here.

We'll just kick off this morning and go uh directly to Director Becker to go through the resolution 0426, unopposed primary district races.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

If you don't mind, I there's actually a few uh one piece of business from Friday to deal with that I I wanted the board to address in our administrative list.

Um I apologize for Madam Chair.

I do have a copy of last week's material if you want to take the time to try to catch up with that.

It was a lot, yeah.

And I'll highlight this for Madam Chair quickly.

I apologize.

I just got this packet to her.

I got a download for Miss O'Connell who enjoyed her time here on Friday with you guys.

She did a fantastic job managing the meeting as well.

And she did have some very poignant questions that she asked and pointed quick.

So one of the administrative um filings that we wanted to the board to address that we we tabled on Friday was for Republican uh state convention delegate um Luke Thomas, and um the the administrative issue is that um he's so he's registered at the address provided, but he wrote the wrong precinct on which page?

Um oh yeah, I'm sorry, I put a little red star next to it there for you.

Um he he wrote the wrong precinct on his um uh filing and the wrong delegate district, but staff is able to determine based on that he is properly registered at the address provided what precinct and what delegate district.

Um so he should be in precinct senator center 58 and delegate district seven.

So we wanted the board to um allow us to make that make that adjustment.

And that requires a motion, council?

Yes, ma'am.

Um I make the motion to um correct the filing of Mr.

Luke Thomas second okay with properly motion and second, call roe aye, Madam Clark, and show the chair voting aye.

You guys have a fastest say too.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Is there anything else from Friday that needs to be no?

So that concludes all the administrative um sort of problems that we wanted the board to deal with and all of the challenges uh the board has adjudicated up to this point.

Um and uh I'll remind the board there's a deadline of Thursday the 26th for us to have adjudicated those, so we have met that deadline.

Um we've adjudicated all the challenges on Friday.

This was just the last remaining administrative piece that we we needed to wrap up.

Yeah, thank you.

Exciting that everything got completed within a day.

It is uh there was uh some chatter about um you know why we're doing it now, why we were having that meeting on Friday.

Well, as Director Becker just indicated, that is the state gives us certain deadlines that if not met, we are out of compliance.

So uh it's it's not that we wanted or tried to rush it, it's that we didn't have a choice.

We had to get it done, and uh that was a marathon meeting that um could have had more people shown up even continued into today.

I mean, I realize we just went into recess, but only to finish this last part of it.

So there are reasons for the way things are done with regard to elections, and if people actually understood that you know the administrative guide is like that, and then the other parts of I mean there's a lot that has to get done by a certain date.

Yeah, so yeah, that's the why of it, and that's helpful to know.

Thank you for indulging me there.

Now that that's covered, Director Becker, do you want to go to the resolution?

Thank you, Madam Chair.

In front of you, uh, should be a copy of resolution 0426.

Um I can read through the whole thing if you'd like, but I I the gist of this resolution.

Um we're utilizing uh I see Indiana Code, election code 3106-4.

And what that allows is the board to you by unanimous resolution um place only contested primary elections on the ballot for legislative districts, uh, in which only the voters who reside in the lettuce legislative district are eligible to vote in the primary for the legislative district.

Um what that means for us is um essentially the town of Claremont.

Yeah, can we clarify it's town, like only municipal, not state.

Yes, yeah, yes.

I apologize.

So it is the and so it is um it is a for the town of Claremont this year, they elect part of their town board this election and part of them in the municipal cycle.

And currently there are um it's a vote for three race, and there is one candidate filed for that office, and so the the staff would like the board to utilize this resolution to essentially remove that office from the ballot for the primary because there's an intentional it's an uncontested race, um, and what it would look like if it was on the ballot is essentially you know, candidate A, and then no candidate filed, no candidate filed.

Um so if we wanted to keep it, I just wanted to explain kind of what that would look like for the voters.

They would only it would say vote for three, but really only have one option there.

Um so this resolution um again it and it's only for the opposed primary elections, um there's a separate uh code citation that would deal with these if it happened in the fall election, but this code citation is per particular to the primary election uh in the in the municipality.

Okay, maybe just a quick question is because we have a resolution to not include a contested people on the ballot already.

Can you explain to me again why this one is different?

It's because it's municipal that's right.

So the resolution we passed previously was specific for the the party races for the PCs and state delegate races, and that's a just a specific code site.

And uh Patrick and Chad caught that uh the town of Claremont, which is the only uh municipality in Marion County that has elected to take the option to do some of their legislative board elections in this um midterm year.

Okay, and so this um that we did this exact same resolution in 23, which is the other time that this would be applicable when we have municipal elections, and they just were like, Oh, yeah, shoot, Claremont is also doing this right now, so we should we should uh do this too um in addition to so it's it was just a good catch by them.

Okay, makes sense.

Yeah, and if I could, madam chair, yeah.

This really comes out of part of the ballot building process as we're establishing what the ballot looks like.

Um, and the other thing I wanted to clarify too: the there's a resolution this board um adopted earlier that is placing or that is allowing um folks to to work uh that was what was done last meeting uh who are uh contested they can still work at the board uh as precinct board members, um, and as counsel alluded to the law just says that uncontested party races are not on the ballot.

Um, so the board does not technically have to take action on those party uncontested races, they are just not placed on the ballot by a function of law at this point.

And to clarify, uh only those party offices, not elected offices are allowed to work though it it that's just too much.

So to be clear, it's only party offices, PC and state delegate for both Republicans and Democrats, not somebody running for uh Senate seat or Congress or any any other or township or anything else, yeah.

So if you're a township uh candidate or um a state legislative candidate, a county candidate, um, yeah, you cannot work the precinct board board.

Go work your voters.

All right, thank you.

Any other questions on this from the board?

No, no.

Second.

Okay.

Properly uh moved and motion and seconded.

I'll call roe, uh, madam chair.

I'm sorry, vice chair.

Aye, madam clerk.

I and so the board's here in voting aye.

And congratulations to that Claremont candidate.

Let's side.

Do they have three times as much work to do since it's only one versus three?

The others are elected in 23, and they'll be able to teach the new person.

That's like I don't know.

Um okay, thank you, um, Director Becker.

Uh next we'll have uh updates.

I don't know if Madam Clark are you gonna share?

I do have I do have a few a few things that we were unable to get to on Friday.

I figured everybody wanted to leave by that point.

Um well it is our ballot proofing is underway.

That is uh very very big deal because how many styles do we have?

1300, 1500?

It's gonna be over 13, probably 12 or 13.

Okay.

Uh that's a lot to get right, and I'm confident that our staff will do that again.

Um in three days to each of your chairs, we will send um send that information.

Um we would like the political parties to review those ballots, and it it may behoove you to remind uh remind them uh not everyone is going to appear on the ballot, those party offices, and I I think you already know that sometimes those party offices um not that they're not important, but they're smaller in scale, and uh that does not diminish their importance or the passion with which people who are running feel um so let your chairs know um we have 10 days until we ratify the ballot for the primary, and we will have a vote center plan, and hopefully everyone has been responding who we have asked to uh serve as vote centers, and we will have um there might be a few good surprises, but not many bad.

I'm not seeing the vigorous head nod.

That's a staff yes um quiet.

It's less than a month, it's just over three weeks until we send out our first uh vote by mail ballot.

So all of this really has to get done in a very uh quick turnaround.

Uh anyone who wants to apply to vote by mail, uh there are about 12 reasons that uh well you have to choose one, you don't choose all 12.

Just pick one.

Um any voter, uh most of the people who who have who request absentee ballots for mail ballots are um 65 years or older.

So once you've reached that age, you get to um you get to vote by mail, no questions asked.

Otherwise, you have to maybe you're caring for somebody or you're uh confined to your home, or you expect uh with some sort of reasonable expectation to be out of the county on election day, the full um 12 hours the polls are open.

Um to request uh uh vote by mail ballot, you can go to Indiana Voters.com or you can call our office at 317 3275 to confirm that you are registered to vote.

Go to Indiana Voters.com.

If you don't see your name, check check your keyboard if it's like mine and the T sticks, that that could be an issue.

Uh but if you still can't confirm your registration, you can call the Marion County Board of Voter Registration at 317 327 5040.

Um better to find out now that there is an issue with your voter registration than after the deadline, which is uh April 6th.

Um we are uh less than a hundred days from the primary.

May 5th, we'll be here before we know it.

Um if anyone wants to work the polls, and I encourage everyone who is a registered voter to sign up because it is um every way, shape, and form awesome.

The day just flies by, especially the primary.

I say that that's I'm not telling you the truth, America.

It sometimes is is it gives you a chance to get to understand the process and it's very valuable, and we need you.

Democrats and Republicans.

But you can uh go to the website at pollworker.indy dot gov.

That's P-O-L-L W-O-R-K-E-R.indy.gov, or you can call us at uh 317 327 5100.

Push number four.

That's option four to be a poll worker.

Um, and if you want to work early voting, and there's a lot that has to go on, and we need bipartisan teams to do that, contact your political party.

That's the way to do that.

And uh again, we are we are working on uh all of the locations for the vote center plan.

That's almost 200 spots uh that we need contracts for.

And if anyone's watching who has a location that would just be perfect, call us 327 5100.

Everything has to be approved.

We can't just say, oh yeah, that'd be great, and then it it's there is a legislative process that has to occur in order for an entity to become uh one of our vote centers and uh a partner to the board.

So um that's all I have.

Uh thank you everyone who participated um on Friday.

That was a uh a tough meeting.

We had to make some tough decisions, and um uh they weren't made in a vacuum, they were uh decided based on party rules, which we are required to follow, and Indiana Code, which we are required to follow.

Uh I think for all of us if we if we were just able to vote to our heart's desire, it it would have looked a little different.

There were there were some uh heartbreaking stories that we um were made aware of and uh but follow the law we must, and we did.

So um, but thank you to everyone who participated because that was uh uh not the easiest meeting.

Oh no, Lita, how was you you how was your event?

I'm sorry you couldn't be with this.

It was a horrible weekend.

Oh share this with your family.

That's all I have.

Thank you.

Any updates?

I have nothing else, madam chair.

How do you how do you add anything after that, right?

You don't.

All right, our I think without any other updates, our uh next scheduled meeting is Friday, March 6th, here uh at the City County building.

Um, and if there's not anything else, I'll call for a motion to adjourn.

I move second.

We are tired.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Wasn't sure where we were.