Saint Joseph council votes to suspend electronic voting after repeated failures

The Saint Joseph City Council voted to suspend its electronic voting system until the CivicClerk platform is functioning reliably, with council agreeing 7–2 to return to voice or roll‑call voting in the interim.

During a prolonged discussion, council members said the electronic system has repeatedly failed to register votes or required members to sign out and sign back in. One council member said the body is "paying for a service" it is not receiving and urged action. City staff said connectivity and device interactions with the CivicClerk application appear to be contributing factors.

City Manager Brian said staff is converting the chamber’s network backbone to a fiber‑based service that should improve Wi‑Fi performance, but noted that the upgrade must be completed before ruling out infrastructure as the cause of failures. Council debated whether the suspension would affect agenda access and document availability; staff said the agenda and documents remain available even if the electronic voting feature is suspended.

The motion to suspend electronic voting was moved and seconded during the meeting; after discussion of contract and recordkeeping implications, the council recorded a 7–2 vote to suspend the electronic system "until CivicClerk is working correctly." The council directed that votes be taken verbally until the issue is resolved.

Council members asked staff to pursue fixes with the vendor, consider issuing a request for proposals for alternative systems, and return with options and a timeline for restoring or replacing the electronic voting capability.