Dubois County receives grant to assist in election process

Wednesday, Secretary of State Diego Morales hand-delivered a $17,789.09 check to Dubois County Clerk-Treasurer Amy Kippenbrock to fund improvements for the Dubois County election process.

The grants are funded through the $2 million Morales’ office received through the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Dubois County is among the 60 counties receiving funds.

In delivering the funding, Morales commended Kippenbrock and her office. “I truly appreciate your leadership and every single member of your team,” he said. “Without you, we cannot run elections. You and your team are the backbone of our elections.”

Morales continued by sharing that during his statewide tour in 2023, Kippenbrock put him on the “hot seat” when he visited her office.

“My job is to come here and ask you how I can help,” he said. “And Amy had a big list.”

Morales said his office had some leeway in using the federal funds, but they decided to open it up to the counties to use locally. “My goal is to bring these resources directly to the county because you know better how to use them,” he said. “The stronger the counties are, the stronger our state will be.”

In applying for the grant, Kippenbrock sought funding for items without long-term high renewal costs that would affect her budget. She plans on using the funding to purchase internet hotspots, educational material displays to be used at voting centers and to cover the costs of voter information and education events such as the Hispanic Outreach event held during the 2023 election cycle.

The new hotspots will provide great security for the poll books by removing the need for election officials to use the internet provided through the facilities where the centers are housed during the election. “Sometimes we use the polling locations’ WiFi connections,” Kippenbrock explained. “If we have our hotspots that we can control…it’s another level of security.”

The educational displays are mobile and can be used at polling locations to provide voters with instructions on how to vote or other pertinent information.

Kippenbrock noted in accepting the grant that she has appreciated the attentiveness Morales’ office has paid to any of her questions or requests. “He truly, truly is supportive of the election process,” she said.