Commissioners take charge of voting integrity questions

Rock County Commissioners want local residents to bring voting concerns to them, rather than to the local auditor’s office.
Auditor Ashley Kurtz and her office staff answer questions regularly about voter registration and other procedures outlined by the office of the Secretary of State.
However, questions about election integrity and possible irregularities should be directed to the County Board, which oversees the auditor’s office, according to discussion at the Oct. 4 County Board meeting.
“Rock County has taken compliance to the Nth degree,” said Board Chairman Jody Reisch. “If they have that big of a concern, we would like to hear it.”
The board meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, unless otherwise rescheduled. The meetings begin at 9 a.m. in the courthouse commissioners’ room.
Reisch told Kurtz at the board’s Oct. 4 meeting that any changes in the county’s election process needs to come to the commissioners.
Her office doesn’t make the rules; it only follows them.
“If something needs to be changed locally, we as a board need to look into it and make those changes,” he said.
Commissioners recently authorized $13,700 from a state election security grant to place cameras at the county courthouse. One camera monitors the drop-off ballot box.
Contact the Rock County Administrative Office at 507-283-5065 to be placed on the commission’s next agenda.