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Leslie R. Swan Supervisor of Elections Indian River County = -; April 27, 2020 y, J The Honorable Susan Adams, Chairman Board of County Commissioners Indian River County Administration Building A 180127 1h Street Vero Beach, FL 32960-3388 Dear Chairman Adams: • I respectfully submit the attached FY 2020— 2021 proposed budget for the Supervisor of Elections office. All indications are that the Coronavirus pandemic will alter how voters will cast their ballot • in the upcoming November 3, 2020 Presidential Election. Due to the Covid-19 virus, the Elections Office is anticipating a shift from voting in person to voting by mail. In preparation for the anticipated surge in mail ballot voting, my staff and I are making sure that we have the necessary equipment, materials, and manpower to efficiently handle a surge in mail ballot voting. During Presidential Elections, our office processes approximately 30,000 mail ballot requests. This year, we are anticipating in excess of 65,000 requests. The Elections Office is encouraging mail ballot voting to minimize the number of poll workers needed for early voting and Election Day polling places and also to allow for physical distancing of poll workers and voters. Meeting the increased demand for mail ballots will require purchasing additional mail ballot stationary materials and will increase our postage costs. There is a very short window between the Primary Election and the deadline to mail ballots for the General Election. Temporary staff to facilitate the assembling of mail ballot packets and processing incoming voted mail ballots is essential. Signature verification for an additional 35,000 plus mail ballots will be a cumbersome task. The task of opening tens of thousands of additional mail ballot packets for tabulation will be labor intensive. 5 IN e ue •hero Beach, FL 32967 Office: (772) 226-3440 Fax: (772) 770-5367?1 wwwvAte�Ic�i