By Don Steen ~ Staff Writer • [email protected]
Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales stopped by the Spencer County Courthouse Friday morning with a late Christmas present for the county’s election officials. A novelty giant check for $26,226 (accompanied by one a bank would actually accept) was presented to Clerk Darrell Stephens and his colleagues.
This was only one stop on a statewide tour, as Morales is handing out grant awards from a pot of $2 million in federal funds allotted to the state through the Help America Vote Act. He said it was good to be back in Spencer County, and he was glad to have the opportunity to thank county employees in person for all the work they do during election season.
“Thank you for all you do,” said Morales. “You are the backbone of our elections.”
Stephens took Morales on a tour of the Clerk’s office, introducing him to those who keep the place humming throughout the year. He also took the opportunity to explain how the county plans to make the most of its grant.
A bulk of the funds awarded will go toward helping get Spencer County in partnership with an up-and-coming website, uselectionslive.com, to provide both real-time updates throughout election night as well as upload precinct data from past elections as reference material. The site is a product of An Island LLC of Perry County, where its new election software is already in use.
Stephens hopes the website will not only help local politicos keep tabs on the results of an election, but help inform voters during the long campaign season. He noted that candidates can post their photo, background, and a profile of their positions on the website for the public to see, as well as any information relevant to what else is on the ballot.
“The website is just phenomenal, and I really think it’s going to grow,” said Stephens. “When we first started talking there was one county, and that was Perry County. Then in the last few months we’re up to five or six and it’s growing as we speak. We’ve got enough funding through the Secretary of State and his office to support us on it for two years.”
Stephens also plans to use the funds to develop more educational material for voters, help train and equip poll workers, and more. The county will also use the money to obtain emergency generators to keep polling places active in the event of a power outage on Election Day.
Read more on this story in this week’s issue of the Spencer County Leader!
Featured Image: Recipients of the grant pose for a photo-op with Secretary of State Diego Morales. Pictured are (from left): Darrell Stephens, Jessica Lambert, Tammy Wink, Gina Pennington, Diego Morales, Jerriann Burroughs, Sandy Wilkinson, Sheila Rininger, and Jessica Burden
Secretary Morales greets everyone as he arrives at the courthouse Friday morning
Everyone listens as Secretary Morales speaks to them
Secretary Morales presents the Spencer County Courthouse with the grant check
