Board names canvassing members and establishes county ballot boards for 2026

Auditor‑Treasurer Vicki Dolan briefed the board about upcoming election administration tasks and asked for two formal actions. First, she explained statutory requirements for the canvassing board that meets after the August primary and November general election and said the board’s members must include the auditor, the court administrator, the mayor of the largest municipality (Alexandria) and two county commissioners who are not candidates in that election.

Vicki said that because several commissioners are running this year, the available board members to serve are Jeff Way and Commissioner Jerry Rapp. "So that leaves Jeff Way and Jerry Rapp to serve on our canvassing board," Vicki said; the board voted to approve that appointment.

Vicki then presented resolution 26‑05 to establish county ballot boards for 2026 to accept and tally regular absentee ballots and UOCAVA ballots in accordance with cited statutes; the resolution passed on a roll call vote. She also presented a separate resolution (26‑06) to designate the auditor‑treasurer (the county 'Iowa' identity/access delegate) for Minnesota Department of Education reporting and sign‑in authority; the board approved that resolution as well.

The board’s votes formalize local election administration roles and the county’s access delegation for state reporting systems. Vicki said the county will publish the appointments and proceed with statutory responsibilities for canvassing and absentee ballot handling.

Next steps: the auditor‑treasurer will serve on the canvassing board, county staff will complete required postings and the county will implement the identity/access designation for MDE reporting.