Testing of election equipment at the Lake County Board of Election took place on Mar. 29, 2022. (John Smierciak / Post Tribune) (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)
The Lake County Board of Elections and Registration approved Tuesday a resolution to volunteer the county as a post-election audit county for a state pilot program.
State law requires that by 2024 all counties utilize a voter verifiable paper audit trail, or VVPAT machines, said Lake County Board of Elections and Registration assistant director LeAnn Angerman. The county implemented VVPAT machines during early voting in the 2022 primary election, she said, and the 2022 general election will see a 10% implementation of VVPAT machines in the polls.
Angerman and Lake County Board of Elections and Registration director Michelle Fajman have financial and storage concerns with the VVPAT machines.
While the state is paying for the VVPAT machines, Angerman said the county will have to pay for the special thermal paper the machines require. When the county receives 1,300 VVPAT machines by 2024, it’ll be costly to restock the paper at about $9 a roll, she said.
Fajman said the paper has to be stored in a climate controlled environment, so it’ll be challenging to find a place to store it. Angerman said storing the VVPAT machines will either require renovation or finding additional storage space.
“The space we have is not sufficient,” Angerman said.
But, the VVPAT machines were designed to give comparable analysis that offers a second set of data to a voting machine, Angerman said. After voting, a voter can look at the paper audit trail and confirm his or her votes, she said.
Angerman said the election office has requested to be a post-election audit county, a new program the state has piloted. Angerman asked for the board to approve a resolution supporting the request to be a post-election audit county.
Board president Kevin Smith said he supports volunteering the county for post-election audits because Angerman and Fajman support the move. Board member Michael Mellon said he also supports the post-election audits.
“It shows that we have confidence in our system, and it gives us the opportunity to look at potential problems we may have. Our goal is efficient and honest elections,” Mellon said.
Angerman said she was pleased the board supported the resolution.
“Director Fajman and I are proud to have bipartisan support and be proactive in seeking to make sure that we have the safest elections possible,” Angerman said. “I am surprised that no one else has asked to be audited, but I am glad we’re leading the effort.”
The board voted 4-0 to approve the resolution, with Clerk Lorenzo Arredondo’s seat vacant following his resignation last week because of health struggles following a fall earlier this year.
“Due to his recent health ailments, it is not possible for the Honorable Lorenzo Arredondo to continue his duties as Clerk of the Lake Circuit/Superior Court,” the letter reads. “Serving the people of Lake County for over 40 years has been one of the most rewarding experiences for him both personally and professionally. He loved every minute of it.”
On Jan. 13, Arredondo slipped and fell outside his Crown Point home and suffered a head injury.
Arredondo, 80, is finishing his first four-year term for clerk. As clerk, he oversees 17 courts in Crown Point, Gary, East Chicago and Hammond, 12 offices and serves on the Lake County Election and Voter Registration board.
Smith started the meeting thanking Arredondo for his years of services to the county.
“We only wish him the best in his recovery,” Smith said.