Spencer County fiscal court approves space, staff and funding to process likely mail ballots for June 23 primary

County Judge Executive John Riley and the Spencer County Fiscal Court on April 23 unanimously approved a package of short‑term steps to prepare for a primary election that the county clerk said state officials expected would be conducted mostly by mail.

Spencer County Clerk Lynn Hesselbrock told the court she had been informed by Jared Dearing, executive director of the State Board of Elections, that the June 23 primary would likely rely primarily on mail‑in absentee ballots, with only limited in‑person voting for disabled or handicapped voters. "Based on time calculations needed to process each ballot, it was determined it would take six people approximately three to four weeks to process all outgoing ballots," Hesselbrock said, noting the county would need about 3,500 ballots to be mailed based on 2016 turnout estimates.

The clerk said her office lacked adequate space that would allow for socially distanced processing of ballots. Magistrate Esq. Beaverson moved and Esq. M. Moody seconded a motion authorizing the clerk to rent office space in the Chamber building for two months at $200 per month; the court approved the motion by roll call vote with all members present voting "aye." The court also authorized obtaining up to six prepaid cellphones to let the ballot processing board contact the State Board of Elections and handle voter portal questions.

Addressing connectivity and equipment, Hesselbrock said library director Debra Lawson had authorized one cellular hotspot for use and that a second hotspot would be needed to accommodate six workers. The court discussed borrowing six computers from the local school district or leasing equipment from CSI, the county's computer vendor, as a backup; Magistrate Esq. Travis offered use of a personal laptop if needed.

Judge Riley moved and Esq. Brewer seconded a motion to authorize up to an additional $5,000 to be added to the clerk's postage meter for election postage, to be transferred from the election expense line item; that motion passed unanimously. The court also authorized the Spencer County Board of Elections to hire and train six full‑time temporary employees and two alternates for six to eight weeks at $14 per hour to serve as the ballot processing board, with hiring and parity requirements noted by the clerk.

Court members discussed other logistics the clerk anticipated, including technical assistance to connect to the state voter registration system for verification and ballot tracking, the possible installation of a drop‑off box for incoming ballots, and assistance from county maintenance to move equipment. Hesselbrock said some logistics items would not require further Fiscal Court approval. The special meeting was adjourned at 5:55 p.m.