Tazewell County’s executive committee approved an emergency declaration to pursue upgrades to the county’s voter systems and moved to apply for an Illinois IVRS grant to replace paper poll books with electronic poll pads, officials said.

County staff told the committee that the project would update 52 tablets currently used at county sites so they can function as electronic poll pads, eliminating printed poll books at polling locations and reducing recurring material waste. “There are 52 of them currently,” a staff member identified in the meeting as Sam said, describing the devices slated for replacement.

The committee voted to put the matter on the floor and approved it by voice vote. The emergency declaration was moved by Mike and seconded by Mr. Crawford; the later motion to consider the tablet upgrade (agenda item 13) was moved by Mr. Schmegall and seconded by Mr. Menel, and each vote carried with an oral “aye.”

Why it matters: County staff said replacing printed poll books with electronic poll pads would reduce printing waste and keep local property tax dollars available for other uses if state grant funding is awarded. “This really puts us, in the leading forefront of this, advancement throughout the state,” Sam said.

Details and contingency: Staff said the county is applying for the state IVRS grant this year and expects the award to be “just a little shy of a half a million dollars.” “It’s not a guarantee. But we’ve been told that the funding is available. We should be finding out here in the next week,” Sam said. Because the grant has not yet been formally awarded, staff described the project as contingent on the state funding. The meeting record shows the county proceeded with the application and approved the related motions; the grant award and final project funding were not finalized at the meeting.

How the devices would work: Staff said the upgraded tablets would be uploaded with required data in advance of Election Day and would not be receiving live information during voting, and that ballot books would be replaced by on-tablet voter lists and signature capture. “The judge will be able to verify your signature right there,” Sam said. Staff also stated there would be no cybersecurity risk because the devices would be preloaded and would only collect information during the election, which would then be downloaded after voting.

Funding and local impact: County staff framed the grant as a way to avoid using local property tax revenue for the equipment purchase. The presentation described the IVRS grant as state funding the county could access instead of capital spending from local taxes; staff characterized the expected award as reducing the need for local funds but noted the award was not guaranteed.

Questions and clarifications: Committee member Miss Trappins asked about how much detail could be shared about the technology the county would obtain. Staff replied that the plan had been expected to be presented during the next budget cycle as a capital expense and that relationships with state contacts, including Dan Sullivan, had helped county staff learn about grant availability.

Next steps: The committee recessed to the broader agenda after approving the motions; staff said they would await the state’s grant decision and proceed based on the award outcome. The meeting record does not show a finalized procurement contract or vendor selection at the time of the vote.