Representatives from Rock County’s 11 townships and five cities who currently vote with mail ballots met Monday night to consider a return to in-person voting.
More than 50 people gathered at the Rock County Library to review election concerns and discuss possible solutions associated with the local voting integrity.
It is the responsibility of township and municipal leaders to coordinate elections, which are overseen by the county.
County officials are advocating the return to in-person voting as a solution to the verbal harassment and threat to personal safety experienced by the county personnel during the 2022 general election.
The three county election workers were present at Monday’s meeting to answer questions, and County Commissioner Greg Burger defended their work.
“We can’t battle this (national) election integrity issue,” he said.
“The integrity of our elections in Rock County is due to the people that are sitting here — staff that are sitting here. We are just trying to solve the problem of keeping our staff and keeping them safe.”
Mail ballots are a popular option for townships and communities that have embraced a system that allows them to research candidates and review issues as they view the ballot.
They also save time and miles by not having to travel to the polling place on Election Day.
“Our township specifically has done a fantastic (job) with voting via mail-in,” said Kyle Hemme, a Denver Township supervisor.
“We enjoy it and we have very good turnout percentagewise.”
He said eliminating mail ballots won’t eliminate political complaints and harassing phone calls.
“I think the best thing is to stay with mail ballots — you are going to have negative feedback no matter which way you go,” Hemme said Monday.
Historically, mail-in districts have had significantly higher percentage of returns than in-person balloting in Rock County.
However, the percentage difference was less in 2022 as more voters chose to cast in-person ballots during the latest election.
In Rock County for the 2022 general election, 77.6 percent of mail ballots were returned, while in-person voting experienced a 72.6 percent turnout.
County Administrator Kyle Oldre said voter integrity outweighs voter turnout percentages.
During the 2022 general election all the questions centered around mailed-in ballots which would turn into harassing phone calls.
“What we are striving for is an election that everyone is comfortable with by the end of the day,” Oldre said. “And if that difference is between 77 and 72 percent, and if people are more comfortable with the 72 percent and the integrity of the election, then that’s a win.”
Auditor Ashley Kurtz outlined a plan to consolidate the 16 mail-in districts into seven or eight polling places.
Cost for the additional election machines is from $52,500 to $63,000, and election judges are paid $20 to $25 per hour.
The expenses are divided among the mail-in townships and municipalities.
They currently pay for postage and envelopes for mail-in ballots, but in-person voting is generally more expensive.
Voters can still request mailed absentee ballots if their precincts return to in-person voting, and there is no guarantee that election harassment will stop.
Kurtz said the state Legislature is considering a bill to provide a $100,000 block grant to counties for election-related costs.
“I would think that if the county would end up receiving this money, they would consider using it to purchase the election machines needed,” she said.
Kurtz also offered to organize election judges for the precincts, which, if rosters are shared, would require three to four certified judges at each polling place.
Ultimately commissioners will make the final decision whether or not to keep mail balloting as an option for township and municipal elections or to have in-person voting only.
Commissioners have until Nov. 1 to implement local changes for the 2024 election.