Last month’s flood that hit the Porter County Elections & Registration Office has left the staff high and dry, still homeless until repairs are completed.
Some of the election machinery has been damaged, too.
A burst water pipe caused an estimated $1 million in damage, not including the election equipment.
The county Election Board heard an update Thursday about the damage.
Porter County Clerk Jessica Bailey said 203 of the ballot-marking devices failed, although 100 are still functional.
Fewer than five of the tabulation machines are damaged, but the boxes that housed them haven’t fared as well.
Two of the electronic poll books aren’t functional. One had water raining on it from the burst water pipe, Elections & Registration Director Sundae Schoon said.
Election Board President Paul Rausch asked if the insurance payment would be pro-rated based on the age of the equipment. The insurance company has yet to determine how much it will pay as it continues to process the claim, Schoon said.
The vendor for that equipment has assured that it can replace what’s damaged, Schoon said.
Porter resident Jennifer Klug asked whether President Donald Trump’s recent executive order regarding election equipment and procedures will mean replacing the existing equipment.
“I vote all the time,” Klug said, and didn’t want a disruption.
The vendor has assured that the replacement equipment will be fully compliant with any mandates in accordance with Trump’s executive order, and the existing equipment’s software can be updated easily, Bailey said.
As the office is being put back together, the county plans to implement recommendations by the federal Cyber Infrastructure Security Agency to both secure the equipment and protect staff and voters’ privacy. That includes preventing visitors from seeing information on workers’ computer monitors.
The extensive damage caused by the broken water pipe included soaking drywall several feet up from the floor, Schoon said. Until the office is put back together, staff members are working in temporary accommodations elsewhere.
Some equipment for the E911 dispatch operation also housed in the building was damaged, but calls continued to go through using backup equipment.
The Election Board also levied a series of fines for delinquent campaign finance reports, formally adopting findings of fact from last week. Fined were campaign committees for Tyler Brock, $150; Barb Domer, $300; Victoria Gresham, $250; John McGraw, $150; Lance Raphael, $1,000; Anthony Wire, $1,000; and Hannah Trueblood, $300.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
