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Kootenai County authorizes election contracts and designates Fairgrounds polling location for May 19 primary
Summary
Elections staff received authorization to expend funds for ballot printing and production, approved ES&S coding and layout costs and secured the Fairgrounds Jacklin building as a polling site for the May 19, 2026 primary at a $500 cost to the county.
Elections Director Asa Gray told the Board of County Commissioners on March 24 that the office needs pre‑authorization to spend budgeted funds for upcoming May 19 primary election services.
Gray requested authorization to spend up to $50,200 with K&H Integrated Print Solutions to print ballots, stuff and mail absentee ballots; authorize up to $25,000 to Election Systems & Software (ES&S) for coding/tabulator programming; and authorize up to $21,337.75 to ES&S for ballot layout and PDF proofs. Gray said $20,572.25 of the coding request had already been budgeted and that additional authorization covers extra ballot styles and candidate counts that increase coding expense.
Gray also requested approval of an Interim Events License to use the Fairgrounds’ Jacklin building as a polling location; staff said the county would pay $500 and co‑locate five precincts at that site. The board approved the authorizations and the polling‑place license.
Board members asked whether the full amounts would be spent; Gray said staff expected to spend less than the authorized totals but requested pre‑approval to ensure timely procurement before invoices arrive.
Next steps: elections staff will proceed with procurement and coding/layout work with ES&S and K&H, finalize the polling‑place resolution for the May 19 primary, and return any updates to the board as needed.
