Emergency Election Board Meeting

Web Producer: Amber Griswold

Republicans and Democrats have been feuding over the cost of educating the public about the new electronic touch-screen voting machines.

The issue came up earlier Monday at the Vanderburgh County Election Board and then again at the Commissioner's meeting which was underway Monday afternoon.

Vanderburgh County Commission President Catherine Fanello has refused to bring to a vote the approval of $530,000 to be paid to electronic systems and software for the May election. The County Clerk wants to know why, so Fanello was called into an emergency election board meeting.

Kevin Winternheimer, County Attorney, responded, "Since I know of no emergency, I'm going to advise my client in what I consider to be an illegal meeting."

County Attorney Kevin Winternheimer and Fanello's stay was short at the early morning meeting, where the election board passed a resolution to pay, but it's the commissioners who have the final say over the dollars spent. Two main reasons. Catherine Fanello says too much money was spent on outreach, teaching voters how to use the electronic equipment. She heard E.S,&S set aside $50,000. County Clerk Marsha Abell says it was considerably less.

Outreach Director and Republican Pete Swaim was paid nearly $16,000 for his work, Republican Court Farrell was paid $46,000. Add in about $5,000 in poll worker training, and outreach ran the county about $25,000. Fanello says that's still too much.