Monroe County election equipment contract OK'd—with background checks added

At their regular meeting this past Thursday, Monroe County commissioners approved a new two-year contract with B&L IT Services for election-related technical work, handling deployment and setup of voting machines, with a total amount of $350,000.

For 2025, a year when no elections are held, costs are limited to $100,000 and will cover regular maintenance, testing of voting machines, any approved upgrades. In 2026, which includes a midterm election, costs can go up to $250,000.

Even though agreement between B&L and the county government has been in place for several years for the same kind of work, Thursday’s meeting marked a second hiccup on the path to approval by commissioners this year.

The first hiccup came in mid-April, when commissioners balked at putting a storage contract for election equipment in B&L’s name, as a part of the contract expense. They put off approval until the storage contract issue was sorted out.

On Thursday, the question considered by commissioners was whether the roughly 20 subcontractors working for B&L IT Services should be required to undergo criminal background checks.

Commissioner Lee Jones raised the initial concern, saying, “It’s my understanding that Mr. White hires a number of subcontractors, and that his subcontractors are unwilling to have their records looked up, and this is something that makes me feel very insecure about our elections, since these people are often all alone with the machines.”

Monroe County selection supervisor Kylie Farris said that it was the company owner, Bob White, who questioned whether his subcontractors should have to undergo background checks, pointing out that election poll workers do not have to have a criminal background check.

Commissioner Julie Thomas pushed back, saying there’s a difference between poll workers and subcontractors: “Election Day is a bit different because, you know, there’s nobody left alone with the equipment.”

White joined the meeting through a remote connection to answer questions. He told the commissioners, “None of the subcontractors have access to the equipment alone. The only people that have access to the equipment are myself and Kylie [Farris] and the clerk’s office.” White added, “None of the subcontractors come into work unless I am present, and typically it is in a group.”

White added, “I don’t have the ability to alter the election, the ballots and that kind of thing. So as far as background check, my thinking on that was that we don’t do a background check on our poll workers, who have a lot more opportunity to influence a vote in some way, as they work directly with the voters.”

County attorney Molly Turner-King said a background check is not legally required: “It’s not legally required, statutorily, to be a part of the contract, so that’s why the language is not included in there currently, since there was not a consensus with the vendor.”

But it was apparent that for White, the issue was not a deal-breaker. He said, “All my people will pass. I have no concern about that.” He added, “It’s just another step and expense, quite honestly, that we’ve not done for 11 years.”

About the estimated $10 to $15 per background check, commissioner Jody Madeira said, “It seems a pretty negligible expense for peace of mind.”

In the end, White said about the criminal background checks for his subcontractors, “I’m willing to do that. I don’t have a problem with that. I can do that.” The contract was amended and the three commissioners approved it unanimously.