Worried about the source of the money, the Scott County board has tabled an application for a grant to help pay for the fall election. Instead, supervisors will hold a special meeting on Tuesday to consider the possible grant from a national nonprofit, the Center for Tech and Civic Life.
County Auditor Roxanna Moritz says the nearly 287,000 dollar grant would help pay for additional costs arising from the pandemic, including additional poll workers, new polling sites, and extra p-p-e for poll workers. But some board members worry about the Center's possible political affiliation.
"It came from our secretary of state who's a Republican and they are funding Republicans as well as Democrats. So for me to have additional funding, I just thought would take the burden off of Scott County taxpayers."
She says already 32 Iowa counties have accepted grants from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, and the deadline to apply is October 1st.
Moritz says her staff is already working 10-hour days, seven days a week, preparing for the November election, and this grant would help pay for the cost - her current budget for elections was approved nearly one year ago, before the pandemic began.
