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Board extends HAVA grant term for voting-system work as registrar addresses voter‑roll concerns
Summary
Kern County approved a consent extension allowing the registrar to draw down remaining HAVA funds for voting‑system upgrades; the registrar outlined a 2025 procurement timeline while public speakers urged transparency on past voter‑roll removals.
The Kern County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 7 approved its consent agenda, which includes extending the county’s Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grant term to permit drawing down remaining funds for voting‑system upgrades.
Amy Espinosa, Kern County auditor‑controller, county clerk and registrar of voters, told the board the total HAVA allocation is $3,700,000, of which roughly $340,000 is earmarked for the county’s election management system. "So the total funding is $3,700,000, under a HAVA grant and it's for upgrades to our voting system, and then there's also a portion of about 340,000 that's specific for our election management system," Espinosa said. She reported the county has drawn $503,078.61 so far, paid in 2019 for a ballot sorter.
Why it matters: The extension gives county elections staff more time to identify qualifying past expenditures and to run a planned procurement for a possible new voting vendor before the next major…
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