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In an effort to consolidate expenses, the Supervisor of Elections has opted to include with the voter information card mailing an informational memo regarding legislative changes which will affect voters. By combining the mailings, thousands of dollars in postage costs will be saved. Another significant budget item included in the FY 2021-2022 budget is the court mandated requirement that each Supervisor of Elections deploy and implement an accessible VBM system which allows registered voters in Florida who are blind to mark secret, independent and verifiable VBM ballots without the assistance of another individual (see attached settlement agreement). The Elections Office upcoming budget includes funds to process 20,000 additional VBM requests on file for the 2022 Primary Election. Due to the pandemic, Indian River County experienced a 100% increase in VBM ballot requests during the 2020 election cycle. Most voters have opted to continue receiving VBM ballots through future elections, which means this preferred method of voting will continue for the coming years. Fortunately, last year the Elections Office was able to absorb the costs associated with the tremendous increase in mail ballot voting, due to the $208,000 CARES Act grant funds allocated to our office. To date, the number of VBM requests for the 2022 Primary Election is in excess of 40,000 requests, which is double the amount of VBM requests since the last primary election. VBM materials, postage, and temporary staffing costs are increased due to the additional 20,000 VBM ballot requests on file. I have outlined below the license fee for the court ordered accessible VBM system and the decennial redistricting costs. ')r»l —?m? M inrintes ner Florida Election Code Florida Council of the Blind lawsuit settlement requires SOE'S to deploy and implement an accessible VBM System $15,000 Mapping vendor to geocode addresses, geopolitical boundaries, and precinct boundary lines that determine ballot styles which are integrated into our voter $10,000 registration system Redistricted paper precinct maps (quantity 2,500) & 2 wall maps $3,800 Redistricted interactive website map $2,500 All registered voters (estimate 126,000 voters) issued a new voter information card due to redistricting: card stock $6,972; printing dual language voter cards $14,946, imprint voter information and folding $7,622; mailing services (list $121,628 setup and import, tabbing, sorting, NCOA) $11,808; letterhead memo $10,700; graphic design $425; postage $69,155 Page 12