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Record of Proceedings

Lake County Board of Elections Meeting - October 20, 2026

County Boards & Commissions — Tuesday, October 20, 2026
BodyLake County, Indiana
SessionCounty Boards & Commissions
DateTuesday, October 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 19:21

Original source
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Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Okay.

0:00

Good morning, everyone.

0:02

I'm going to call the October 20th, 2026.

0:05

Lake County Board of Elections to order.

0:08

We could all please stand for the pledge of grade.

Unassigned speaker

0:11

I pledge the lead.

Unassigned speaker

0:13

So the file is America.

Unassigned speaker

0:21

Indivisible.

Speaker 1

0:24

Thank you and good morning.

0:25

Roll call, please, Michelle.

Unassigned speaker

0:30

John Reed?

Speaker 1

0:31

Present.

0:32

Mike Brown.

0:33

Present.

Unassigned speaker

0:33

Charlene Foss

Speaker 2

0:34

Eggman.

0:35

Here.

0:35

And Kevin Smith.

Speaker 1

0:36

I am here.

0:37

All members are present in person.

0:38

We do have a quorum.

0:40

The next item on the agenda would be the approval of the minutes.

0:43

I don't see any.

0:45

Is there any old business?

0:48

Hearing no old business, move on to new business.

0:51

First is the county authorization for the voter voters registration unmerge.

0:58

So uh who's got that?

1:00

Is that a Lewis or uh?

Unassigned speaker

1:03

Actually, I have Donna here who has been working

Speaker 2

1:05

on

Speaker 1

1:06

Donna,

Unassigned speaker

1:07

if you'd like to come up to the microphone.

Speaker 2

1:09

She was working individually with the other county, so she can do a little review on it.

1:13

Just basically

Speaker 1

1:14

great.

1:15

Donna, good morning.

Speaker 3

1:16

Good morning, everyone.

1:17

Um, just like to say that this county authorization form, and what happened is one of our clerks made a human error, and she attached the voter registration application from vote um from our county, Lake County, with Madison.

1:34

And it was the same name and same date of birth, so we couldn't just unmerge it because she was already active in Madison County.

1:44

So they needed to be separate, and the only option was the county authorization form.

Speaker 1

1:50

And this was caught by um uh through the system and through Madison County, correct?

Speaker 3

1:55

Yes, it was.

Speaker 1

1:56

All right, and so your request to the board is to have us sign the VR.

2:00

I'm sorry, the uh SVR system S V R S form.

Speaker 3

2:05

The CAL form, correct?

Speaker 1

2:07

Yes, yes, okay.

2:08

Are there any questions of uh of Donna?

Speaker 3

2:10

That's all

Speaker 4

2:11

I

Unassigned speaker

2:11

think.

Speaker 1

2:12

The board, okay.

2:13

Hearing none, uh motion then to approve the uh request to unmerge the voter.

Speaker 4

2:18

Motion to approve, Ms.

2:19

Chair.

Speaker 1

2:20

Second motion by Clerk Brown, second by Mr.

2:22

Reed.

2:22

Is there any discussion on the motion?

2:25

Hearing none.

2:25

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

2:27

Aye, any opposed.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Election Procedures█████████████████████████████████████████████57%
Procedural█████████████████████26%
Public Comment█████████████17%
Summary of Proceedings

Lake County Board of Elections Meeting - October 20, 2026

The Lake County Board of Elections convened on October 20, 2026, with all members present. The meeting covered several administrative items including voter registration corrections, vendor contracts, and election preparations. Public comment raised concerns about early voting location changes in East Chicago.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Benito White Arnold of East Chicago expressed concerns about confusion caused by relocating the early voting location in East Chicago. He noted the building has undergone multiple name changes and that residents have not been adequately notified. He requested direct notifications to all voters in East Chicago, similar to the notification sent for precinct 28, and urged that polling location decisions be made by the people rather than precinct committee organizations.

Discussion Items

  • Voter Registration Unmerge: Donna reported a clerical error merging a Lake County voter with a Madison County voter due to matching name and date of birth. The board signed the County Authorization Letter (CAL) to unmerge them. Motion carried unanimously.
  • Incomplete Voter Registrations: Biliana Mikich reported 152 incomplete registrations (down from 154). The board voted to reject these pending the October 24 deadline for applicants to provide missing information. An amended motion to allow pending the deadline carried unanimously.
  • Vendor Contract for 2026 General Election Movers: The contract for moving voting machines and ADA equipment, previously approved by commissioners, was presented for board signature. Prices: $40 per machine pickup, $60 per ADA location delivery, and $250 per hour per crew for election night supplies. Motion to sign carried unanimously.
  • Appeal Update: Counsel reported that Christina McNeely's appeal (related to Hammond school candidates) was voluntarily dismissed.
  • Purchase Orders Over $1,000: The board approved the presented purchase orders. Motion carried unanimously.
  • Next Meeting and Training Discussion: The next meeting is set for October 31, 2026 (Halloween) at 10 a.m. Discussion emphasized the importance of in-person training for first-time poll workers and inspectors. Online training has been going well, with minor YouTube issues.
  • Voter Turnout Update: Staff reported that as of 15 days out, in-person early voting is up approximately 6,400 compared to the same point in the 2022 election, while mail voting is down (2,057 now vs. 4,658 in 2022). Overall turnout is up by about 4,000.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the voter registration unmerge request (unanimous).
  • Approved rejection of incomplete voter registrations pending the October 24 deadline (unanimous on amended motion).
  • Approved signing the vendor contract for the 2026 General Election movers (unanimous).
  • Approved purchase orders over $1,000 (unanimous).
  • Noted voluntary dismissal of the Christina McNeely appeal.
  • Scheduled next board meeting for October 31, 2026, at 10 a.m.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. Good morning, everyone. I'm going to call the October 20th, 2026. Lake County Board of Elections to order. We could all please stand for the pledge of grade. I pledge the lead. So the file is America. Indivisible. Thank you and good morning. Roll call, please, Michelle. John Reed? Present. Mike Brown. Present. Charlene Foss Eggman. Here. And Kevin Smith. I am here. All members are present in person. We do have a quorum. The next item on the agenda would be the approval of the minutes. I don't see any. Is there any old business? Hearing no old business, move on to new business. First is the county authorization for the voter voters registration unmerge. So uh who's got that? Is that a Lewis or uh? Actually, I have Donna here who has been working on Donna, if you'd like to come up to the microphone. She was working individually with the other county, so she can do a little review on it. Just basically great. Donna, good morning. Good morning, everyone. Um, just like to say that this county authorization form, and what happened is one of our clerks made a human error, and she attached the voter registration application from vote um from our county, Lake County, with Madison. And it was the same name and same date of birth, so we couldn't just unmerge it because she was already active in Madison County. So they needed to be separate, and the only option was the county authorization form. And this was caught by um uh through the system and through Madison County, correct? Yes, it was. All right, and so your request to the board is to have us sign the VR. I'm sorry, the uh SVR system S V R S form. The CAL form, correct? Yes, yes, okay. Are there any questions of uh of Donna? That's all I think.

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