Marion County probate judge seeks approval to replace poll pads, requests redistricting maps for voter system update

Probate Judge Paige Vicks told the Marion County Commission on an election-administration agenda item that the county needs replacement poll pads and supporting equipment ahead of next year’s elections and that updated redistricting filings must be provided to the board of registrars to ensure voters receive correct ballots.

“The grand total to replace all the iPads, the pole pads, the stands that they have to go on, the case is $17,335,” Paige Vicks said, adding that “it's my understanding that that’s going to be reimbursable by the comp trailers office.”

Vicks said the county’s current poll pads are no longer usable because security functions are out of date and that the purchase would include new iPads, poll pads, stands and cases. She told commissioners that she needs their approval to buy the equipment and then submit the purchase for reimbursement as described.

Vicks also urged commissioners to file the county’s redistricting descriptions with the probate office and provide precinct maps to the registrar’s office. She explained that the street-level descriptions are what the voter registration system uses to assign ballot styles at polling places and on poll pads. “If y’all don’t have that, the voters are not gonna get the correct ballots,” she said. Vicks asked for maps showing precincts in one color and the new commission districts in another so poll workers and voters can determine the correct ballot style at the polls.

Separately, Vicks said she is working with the county Emergency Management Agency to pursue a grant to buy mobile Wi‑Fi hotspots to provide Election Day connectivity and enable near-instant communication with poll workers. She described the ability to transmit information “instantaneously” to polling places if mobile hotspots are available.

No formal motion or recorded vote on the poll pad purchase or map filing was included in the transcript of the work session. Commissioners asked questions about timing and filing procedure; Vicks said the goal is to have the redistricting information filed and available well before the upcoming elections so ballot styles in the poll pads are correct.

Commissioners also discussed practicalities of precinct “split” situations where a single precinct contains multiple commission lines and thus multiple ballot styles. Vicks recommended providing paper maps at polling locations for poll workers to confirm a voter’s correct ballot style in cases of split precincts.

The commission did not record a formal vote during the work session transcript; Vicks indicated she would seek the board’s approval to proceed with the purchase and to pursue the grant work on mobile hotspots.