Monroe County Election Board invites VSTOP for audit, reviews voter rolls, polling locations and an emergency move

Monroe County election staff reported operational updates and the board approved several staff-directed actions at its January 2026 meeting.

Kylie, an election staffer responsible for voter registration and Election Central operations, reported voter-roll maintenance totals: "We have processed a total of 7,592 cards so far," she said, with 6,438 records made inactive, 949 remaining active and 207 canceled. Kylie reported the county's current registration total as 89,214 voters, including 74,828 active and 14,386 inactive registrations. She also reminded the board that annual CFA-4 reports are due Jan. 21 by noon and that the last day to file for candidacy is Feb. 6 by noon.

On new business, the board voted to invite the Voting System Technical Oversight Program (VSTOP) to present a post-election audit demonstration at the board's February meeting. Speaker 3 moved the invitation and Speaker 2 seconded; the motion passed by voice vote. Kylie explained VSTOP's process, saying the audit team would sample up to three races chosen by the election board and would strive to reach a 90% accuracy target, with results released publicly.

Operations updates also addressed facilities. Richard Kreider of Monroe County Building and Fleet tech services showed photos of progress at the Showers Building (Election Central), confirming framing and room layouts for early voting, Election Central office space and a ballot room. He said an unforeseen water-heater failure in the Johnson Building flooded space next to voter registration and disrupted adjacent probation offices, prompting a proposal to move voter registration into the Showers Building earlier than planned; staff estimated Feb. 9 as the target move date and said they would coordinate temporary technical support and moving services.

On compliance matters, staff presented a list of CFA-4 filers; some remained unfiled. The board approved a motion to send a second certified letter to nonresponding filers and to follow up by phone and email, with staff to report back in February.

Kylie also reviewed a draft polling-location spreadsheet showing confirmed (highlighted) and unconfirmed sites. The board authorized staff to follow up by phone to finalize site confirmations, then bring a final list for approval at the February meeting. Members asked staff to obtain larger precinct maps for review and to research a specific concern about Richland 9, a very small precinct that sometimes shifts between two polling places; Kylie said she would examine whether the precinct can be assigned consistently in line with statute.

Public comment included support for encouraging more-informed voting and additional comments about the trade-offs of vote centers vs. satellite locations during emergencies. One frequent public commenter delivered a strongly partisan statement criticizing the Democratic Party; the board acknowledged the comment and adjourned.

Motions taken at the meeting were recorded by the board and staff said they will report outcomes and implementation steps at the February meeting.