By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Ellis County Clerk Bobbi Dreiling reported to the Ellis County Commission Tuesday on grant funds from the Kansas Secretary of State that the county was awarded to purchase equipment to enhance election security.
The county was awarded $7,980 and will be required to provide a match of $886.
The following items were purchased:
Eight precinct transfer bags: These bags contain the election night results and provisional ballots, advance mail ballots that are dropped off at the poll site, and ballots that did not run through the counting machine. These are locked at the poll site and delivered to the election office on election night.
Two cameras for the drop box in the County Administration Building alley for advance mail ballots. One camera was already in place, but adding two more allows the vehicle to be seen coming down the alley and leaving the drop box.
It also preserves the image of the person in the vehicle dropping off the ballot and the number of ballots being dropped off. The law allows one person to drop off a maximum of 10 ballots.
The drop box is checked once a day by two people — one Democrat and one Republican. It takes two keys to open the box.
One camera was installed in the room in the election office that holds ballots. It shows who is entering/exiting the room and what they are doing in the room.
Access control: The room that holds county election equipment will now only be accessed by badge entry. This will record anyone entering the room. Access will be limited to election office personnel and the buildings and grounds department, as the main water valve is in that room.