Kosciusko County Clerk Chief Deputy Melissa Boggs, County Clerk Ann Torpy, and Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales, front, from left, pose with members of the county clerk’s staff as Morales presents a ceremonial check to the office.

Text and Photos
By Patrick Webb
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — On Friday, Jan. 26, Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales visited Kosciusko County to present a $28,000 check to the Kosciusko County Clerk’s Office for election projects.

Morales greeted the clerk’s staff before he explained his visit.

“I’ve been crisscrossing all 92 counties since last year,” Morales said about speaking with county clerks. “I heard many of you loud and clear: we need some support, some financial support, in preparation to the 2024 elections.”

Morales presented his feedback to his team in Indianapolis, and they started work. He also went to Washington to attend the National Association of Secretaries of State conference. There, Morales spoke to Indiana’s congressional delegation.

“I took the time to visit Capitol Hill to visit with our congressional delegation and Congress as a whole. And I told them, ‘Look we need some grant opportunity, financial money for our clerks,’” Morales said.

Indiana received a $2 million grant from the Help America Vote Act. The Indiana Secretary of State’s office is in charge of running Indiana’s elections through the Election Division.

“I could have spent this couple million dollars in advertising or TV, which you can spend that real quick because it’s expensive,” Morales pointed out. “Because I’m a grassroots person, and since I’ve been listening to all 92 counties, my goal was to bring these resources directly to them.”

The secretary of state’s office sent a notice to Indiana’s 92 counties, Morales explained. Sixty-four applied for and were given grants. Considerations included the number of registered voters in each county, their size and what their request was.

“Most counties got what they requested,” Morales said, with a few exceptions where requests overlapped with other available resources.

Morales advocated for the county clerks by sending letters and visiting county councils and commissioners upon the request of the clerks’ offices.

Morales’ goals for the Help America Vote Act grant funds include increasing voter turnout and improving how quickly election results are released.

“We want Indiana to lead the way,” Morales explained. “So when we close the polls in May, and in November, we will be the first one to start showing the results.”

Morales thanked the county clerk’s office staff. “Without you we cannot run smooth elections. Your role is very important,” he said. “You’re not alone. You can count on the secretary of state’s office, because we’re a team. I cannot do my job without you.”

Ann Torpy, the Kosciusko County clerk, explained that the $28,000 grant will be used for a video series.

“We’re using DreamOn Studios from Warsaw to produce videos we can post on our county website and YouTube through the county’s YouTube page,” Torpy said. The videos will “educate voters on the process of how to get ballots through the mail or how to vote on Election Day, meaning where to go, how to get their vote cast.”

Torpy hopes to have the videos ready for the May primary or by summer at the latest. She will meet with DreamOn next week to discuss the pre-production schedule. Torpy wants the videos to be shown to high school government classes, and she added Live Well Kosciusko was interested in using the material.