County clerk briefs supervisors on election equipment swap offer and records-request system

The Sawyer County clerk told supervisors the county and its towns have been offered a one-time exchange for ICE tabulator machines ahead of an expected decertification of current ICX equipment in 2027 and reviewed accessibility requirements under federal law.

The clerk said towns were notified of an offer to exchange the older ICX tabulators for ICE tabulator machines, described in the vendor materials as having a $9,000 retail value; the exchange would require a $400 delivery and training fee paid by the town if it chooses to accept. The clerk emphasized that ICE tabulators produce paper ballots and that any town concerned about tabulator accuracy could hand-count paper ballots; however, she also noted that jurisdictions must provide handicapped-accessible voting equipment under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which in practice requires an accessible machine programmed for the election.

The clerk said she will travel to St. Cloud to observe the facility that programs the county's Dominion voting machines and to meet staff responsible for ballot production and equipment programming. She also said towns must decide locally whether to accept the vendor's exchange offer.

Separately, the clerk discussed the county's records-request handling and the vendor known as NextRequest (referred to at the meeting as “Next request”), noting uncertainty about whether to continue the current vendor or adopt a different policy. The clerk said the matter will require a policy decision if the county retains central handling of requests, since by statute the county clerk is responsible for the county board and the clerk's office but not for all 300 county staff members. She suggested the topic could be deferred to the administration committee for a policy decision.

No formal action was taken on the equipment exchange or the records-request policy during the administrative meeting.

Key details: - ICX tabulators are expected to be decertified in 2027, according to materials cited by the clerk. - Vendor offered an exchange to ICE tabulators (retail value cited as $9,000) for a $400 delivery and training fee per town. - HAVA (Help America Vote Act) requires jurisdictions to provide handicapped-accessible voting equipment; a town cannot fully avoid providing an accessible device even if it hand-counts ballots. - Clerk will visit the Dominion programming and ballot-printing facility in St. Cloud as part of routine due diligence.