Lake County Board of Elections and Voter Registration Meeting - July 21, 2026
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Lake County Board of Elections and Voter Registration Meeting - July 21, 2026
The Lake County Board of Elections and Voter Registration met on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in the Commissioners Courtroom, 2293 N. Main St., Crown Point, Indiana. All five members were present: Chairman Kevin Smith (D), Clerk Michael Brown (D), Mara Candelaria-Reardon (D), John Reed (R), and Charlene Foss-Eggemann (R). The board recognized the resignation of Assistant Director Jessica Messler and the appointment of Lori O'Day as her successor. The meeting adjourned at 10:47 a.m.
Consent Calendar
- Approved Board Meeting Minutes from May 2, 2026 (Inspector Saturday), May 5, 2026 (Election Day), and June 16, 2026, each by unanimous voice vote.
Campaign Finance
- Gabrielle King / CTE Gabrielle King: The board unanimously voted to reduce a $20 late-report fine to $10 after staff acknowledged an office error in not processing her reduction request.
- Buncich committee (transcribed as "Bunch boosters"): Unanimously set aside a $150 fine due to lack of service, after the committee disbanded and its reports were filed.
- Jamal Washington: Unanimously set aside two fines ($250 from 2024 and $300 from 2026) due to lack of service; the board noted the fines will return if service is obtained.
- Vote Yes for Hammond Schools: Unanimously waived the remaining $555.31 of an $1,100 fine after the committee disbanded with zero funds and paid its account balance toward the fine.
- Andrew Delano: After hearing sworn testimony from Mr. Delano, the board unanimously reduced his cumulative fines from $2,150 to $450 based on the penalty schedule for late reports and his self-funded campaign.
School Referendum Items
- Lake Central School Board Reorganization: Staff provided information only; no action was needed.
- School City of Whiting: Unanimously approved the DLGF-approved ballot language and set the public question for the November 2026 election.
- Tri-Creek School Corporation: Unanimously approved the DLGF-approved ballot language and set the public question for the November 2026 election. Attorney Thomas Peterson expressed appreciation for the board's cooperation.
- Crown Point School Corporation: Unanimously approved the public question certification (noting the correspondence was dated July 13, 2025, as transcribed, an apparent typo) and placed it on the November 2026 ballot.
- River Forest Community School Corporation: Unanimously approved the DLGF-approved ballot language and set the referendum for November 2026, despite scrivener's errors and a noted date discrepancy in the DLGF certificate (July 7 vs. July 6).
County Authorization Form
- Unanimously approved a county authorization form to update the Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS), removing one voter from the citizenship validation hopper.
Purchase Orders
- Unanimously approved purchase orders over $1,000, with the exception of two MicroVote maintenance orders (PO #2607599 and PO #2607268), each $3,750, which appeared duplicative. Approval of those two was made subject to confirmation by the directors that they are not duplicates.
Key Outcomes
- All motions passed unanimously with recorded roll call votes where taken.
- The next regular meeting is scheduled for August 18, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in the Commissioners Courtroom.
Meeting Transcript
And then I was there this morning at seven o'clock for 65. And I've got part of that. I'm sure Highland's temporary. Oh, fantastic. I feel bad about that too. There's no way I can. I mean, I just said I got it. I'll just do it for their interview and lawyers next week. Thank you. This is five per me. It's too much. Can't do it. No. Not with Dyer and I have two meetings at the same time tonight. And I'm gonna go to Dyer instead. That's all. That's I mean, but that was the last big issue. That was the last really nice. If I could just get my voice controls to get along better. It's weird, isn't it? Maybe last week versus the new item that they just did. The Democrats don't have this. So there's air right here on two sides. Uh is the video ready? Are we videoed? Are we ready? We're on line? Okay. Okay. Are the we're we're can we start? Whenever you tell me we're started, we're going. We're good. Okay. Louis says we're good. So usually we'll just make sure that we because Joel usually does this, but just make sure that the board knows that we're on so that people understand that if people can hear us, because we haven't really started the meeting yet. So like right now are we online and people can hear us? Yeah, I just told uh Gabby that we're starting. Okay. So we're just giving us like a thumbs up so we know that it's like recorded. Okay. Okay. All right. Well, I'm gonna call the meeting to order anyway. So if we could uh are can I call the meeting to order? Yes, we can go. Okay, it's recorded, I suppose. Um I'm going to call the uh July 21st uh Lake County Board of Elections and Voter Registration meeting to order. If we could all stand if you're able for the pledge release. All right, well, we'll get it right after the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America Republic for which it stands one nation under God and divisible with liberty and justice for thank you.
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