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D1 CAB 6/15/26 Minutes

District 1 Citizens Advisory Board Meeting Minutes

Monday, June 15, 2026 | 5:30 p.m.

Sedgwick County Election Office

3639 N Comotara St, Wichita.

Board Members in Attendance: Daniel Bateman, Diane Albert, Diana Gjerstad, Jim Reid, Judah Craig, Kathryn Herzog, Madeline LaForge, Steven Burt, Tex Dozier

County Representatives: Sedgwick County Commissioner Pete Meitzner, Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Laura Rainwater, Sedgwick County Deputy Election Commissioner Richard Riggs

  1. Call to Order
    1. Daniel Bateman started the meeting at 5:34 p.m.
  2. Approval of Meeting Minutes
    1. A motion was made by Kathryn Herzog to approve the minutes. Judah Craig seconded the motion. The CAB approved the motion with a 9-0 vote.
  3. Public Agenda
    1. No members of the public were present.
  4. New Business
    1. Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Laura Rainwater gave an overview of what the new election office offers and why the change was needed. She said there’s better election security because there’s a warehouse on site that can house the equipment. It is also triple the size of the previous election office so it offers many new rooms including training and early voting. There is also free parking.
    2. Laura Rainwater said since the new office isn’t centrally located, she is also opening up advanced voting at the Sedgwick County Extension Office and the Advanced Learning Library.
    3. Jim Reid asked how the county is communicating the fact that the election office moved.
      1. Laura Rainwater said they are sending out a mailer letting people know they have moved. There are also posts on social media and the address has changed on the Sedgwick County website.
    4. Diane Gjerstad wanted to know how many schools are involved.
      1. Laura Rainwater said they’re adding more polling sites thanks to an amazing partnership with USD 259.
      2. Steven Burt asked if schools push back at all to host polling sites over the summer.
      3. Laura Rainwater and Diane Albert both said no.
      4. Diane Albert said this is why it’s collaboration is so important to which Laura Rainwater agreed.
      5. Laura Rainwater said students can also be election workers if they are 16 or older.
    5. Sedgwick County Commissioner Pete Meitzner said Laura Rainwater’s budget request this year is to up election worker pay.
      1. Laura Rainwater said yes because it’s the lowest paid of all the counties in Kansas.
      2. Diane Gjerstad said that’s kind of embarrassing.
    6. Commissioner Pete Meitzner talked about why the old building wasn’t safe- citing incidents of people bathing in the public restrooms of the old office and it being a dangerous place to walk alone at night.
    7. Laura Rainwater said the number one goal is to make voting accessible for all of Sedgwick County voters. She said transparency is also a high priority which is why the new office has viewing windows where the public and media can watch them run the ballots through. The rooms are also securely locked where it takes a badge to get inside.     

Commissioner’s Comments

  1. Commissioner Meitzner gave an update regarding the conversation on data centers. He said the county is still in a pause with it.
  2. General discussion took place on data centers.

Election

  1. Steven Burt motioned to move meetings to the election office.
  2. Judah Craig seconded it.
  3. Kathryn Herzog seconded the motion.
  4. The CAB approved the relocation of its meetings to the Sedgwick County Election Office with a vote of 9-0.

Adjournment

  1. The District 1 Citizen’s Advisory Board ended at 7:02 p.m.

The next Citizens Advisory Board Meeting will be Monday, July 20., 2026, 5:30 p.m.  

at Bel Aire City Hall at 7651 E Central Park