(Lucinda Larnach)
Update: Monroe County Clerk Nicole Browne said at a Feb. 1 election board meeting that she plans to hire a new election supervisor and chief deputy clerk before March 7.
A local political advocacy organization says it doubts Monroe County’s ability to administer two upcoming elections this year given its current lack of an election supervisor.
The League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County sent an open letter saying so last week to Monroe County Clerk Nicole Browne. In it, the league wrote it is concerned by the “potentially fraught atmosphere” and high turnout expected this year.
“Given the national mood, public confidence in this election will likely be tested,” the letter states. “The League of Women Voters is deeply concerned that Monroe County will not be prepared to conduct the primary and general elections with adequate and knowledgeable staff support.”
The election supervisor is responsible for overseeing the operations of elections and registration for the county, as well as ensuring registration activities, recordkeeping and services comply with state and local policies and regulations, according to a position summary on the county’s listing of open positions.
League spokesperson Ralf Shaw said the lack of an election supervisor could lead to scrutiny over election results.
“Everybody in the county should feel confident that they can run for office and they can vote without any question about the reliability of the outcome of the election,” Shaw said. “The role of election supervisor is a crucial part of making sure that all happens smoothly.”
The election supervisor position has been left vacant at least three times in the last 12 months. The last person to hold the title, Ryan Herndon, resigned effective Jan. 12. He started in mid-August 2023.
Before Herndon, Jessica Brown held the title for less than a month last year.
Longtime election supervisor Karen Wheeler resigned last February following the November 2022 general election, in which more than 6,600 ballots were not added to the election night total on time. Wheeler started as election supervisor in October 2017.
Wheeler said Browne told her after the election error that she must resign or be let go, though she chose to not resign immediately. She now works in the county parks and recreation department.
“There was a new procedure, there was new equipment, there were just different things that did slip through the cracks,” Wheeler said. “I actually had nothing to do with it, but she just gave me that ultimatum and I did not want to fight it.”
The county also lacks a chief deputy clerk. That position was left vacant in July 2023 when Tressia Martin resigned. The chief deputy clerk assists in administering elections and fills in for the county clerk when needed.
Browne said she is searching for replacements in both roles.
“We will have an election supervisor in place in plenty of time to have a successful election,” Browne said. “We’re looking for a specific experience with respect to working with elections, and I will make a decision on the person best suited for the role among the options that are available to me.”
Browne said she attributes recent turnover to the last two election supervisors’ lack of institutional knowledge, as well as low pay.
Last year, the county council brought the election supervisor’s salary up from $37,529 to $55,674. That’s an increase of more than $18,000, or 32 percent.
Browne said she expects the pay increase will help attract qualified candidates.
“Although the pay was not raised to what someone with project management (experience) could earn in the private sector, it was raised enough that I believe I will attract a higher caliber of qualified applicants,” Browne said.
Even if Monroe County is without an election supervisor in time for the primary, Browne said it could receive help from other counties and state government offices to administer the election.
“I have 91 clerk brothers and sisters to whom I can reach out for assistance, guidance and advice until I can get someone in place that I feel confident will help us deliver a quality election,” Browne said. “We work with the Indiana Election Division, we work with the Secretary of State’s office — and so, Monroe County will have the election that voters have come to expect and deserve.”
But Wheeler said she is skeptical because of all the details and procedures the election supervisor is responsible for.
“There are good workers who help with voter registration and also early voting, but there is no one person that has all the information that is needed,” Wheeler said. “Maybe she has something up her sleeve that I don’t know about, but it doesn’t make sense to me.”
The League of Women Voters also sent its letter to the county commissioners and county council members.
Marty Hawk, the sole Republican on the council, said she shares the League’s concern over the lack of an election supervisor.
“The people that work in the election office are working very hard, but they really cannot do it all; they need to have additional help,” Hawk said. “This is a big job, and it’s one that we have to have someone that we can really, really trust.”
Hawk said the council can help the clerk’s office by revising job descriptions and adjusting salaries, but it’s up to Browne to fill any vacancies in time for the election.
“The best thing we can do is just encourage the clerk, and I think that she already knows that this is essential and has to be working on a solution,” Hawk said. “Because this election is a presidential election, it will be highly watched, and we have to make certain everything just goes perfectly.”
Council member Peter Iversen, a Democrat, said the primary election is still far enough away for Browne to find qualified replacements.
“These are positions that, one mistake can end up on the national news,” Iversen said. “This is not something we want to rush into. I understand that there is the pending deadline of the election, but at the same time, we want to make sure we get this right.”
Iversen also said it’s important for the county to retain employees. To that end, he said the council recently approved an overtime increase for the election supervisor position.
He said he hopes this will help encourage the next election supervisor to stay in the role longer.
“We don’t want to find ourselves in this situation again in November; we don’t want to find ourselves in this situation again in 2025,” Iversen said. “There are challenges in the labor market, but I’m confident in the clerk … and I have all the confidence in the world that these positions will be filled in due time.”
Browne said she could not promise how long the next election supervisor will stay in the job.
“I can promise that I will hire the best-qualified person for the role and hope that the people who are the fiscal body of the county will understand and continue to address not just the election supervisor’s pay, but the pay of all Monroe County Clerk employees,” she said.
Last year, the council approved an 8.5% cost of living adjustment for all county employees in 2024. Browne called the increase a good start but said employees still don’t make enough for how much work they do.
