The Help America Vote Act Grant Board approved 26 grant applications for 22 counties.
Counties may apply for a HAVA Grant or In-Person Satellite Voting Center Pre-Approval, according to the HAVA state plan.
The HAVA Grant provides up to $9,000 for counties with a balance of zero HAVA funds. Counties eligible for in-person satellite voting center approval must meet requirements including voters in the jurisdiction live 50% farther from the existing county seat or satellite location than the rest of the county.
The HAVA Grant Board met Monday and voted to approve all of the applications.
The approved HAVA Grant Application are: Brule County, $9,00; Buffalo County, $9,000; Charles Mix County, $5,675.55; Carson County, $9,000; Davidson County, $9,000; Day County, $9,000; Dewey County, $9,000; Edmunds County, $9,000; Fall River County, $9,000; Grant County, $9,000; Gregory County, $9,000; Hughes County, $9,000; Jackson County, $9,000; Jones County, $6,460; McCook County, $9,000; Meade County, $9,000; Oglala Lakota, $9,000; Potter County, $9,000; Sanborn County, $9,000; Sully County, $9,000; Union County, $9,000 and Ziebach County, $9,000.
The approved in-person satellite voting center applications are Buffalo County, $9,000; Dewey County, $10,454; Jackson County, $28,500 for two elections and Oglala Lakota, $24,500.
The grants will cover election costs including maintenance of voting equipment, training election workers and publishing sample ballots in the newspaper.
“I think it’s great that we have this HAVA grant application program," Rachel Soulek, the board's chair, said. "Especially for the counties who don’t have any more county-held funds, that they have this resource just to help pay for their election related expenses.”
