Mercer County board remembers Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, acquire Dominion Voting machines
The Mercer County Board of County Commissioners held its monthly meeting where the county’s budget, voting machines, and various grants were discussed.
The Aug. 17 meeting began with a moment of silence for the late Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver, who passed away Aug. 1.
“She was a supporter of women in government, a supporter of women of color, of the downtrodden, of education, of all the good in our society, but was never blind to the things that were wrong that she felt had to change,” Commissioner Chair Lucylle Walters said.
“Lt. Governor Oliver shattered many glass ceilings, but she never forgot about the women down there sweeping up the glass,” Commissioner Samuel Frisby said. “She was a true champion of the people of New Jersey.”
Another moment of silence was held for Paul Pintella, a four-term Trenton city councilman, who passed away in early August.
The Board of County Commissioners approved 57 resolutions, including a state grant submission for housing and community resources, a competitive contract with the Hamilton YMCA for a diverse abilities athletic program, and an authorization for domestic violence shelter provided by Lawrenceville-based nonprofit Womanspace.
Resolution 45, which called for a 5.6-acre lease at the Trenton-Mercer Airport, was tabled and removed from the meeting’s formal agenda.
The board also passed a $3.8 million bond ordinance authorizing the acquisition of Dominion voting machines for the statewide elections this November.
The county experienced a widespread voting machine breakdown in Mercer County during the 2022 November election. It turned out to be a “miscommunication” between Dominion Voting Systems and the company that printed the ballots, according to Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri.
The Mercer County Board of Elections attributed the breakdown of the voting machines to malfunctioning tabulators that scan voters’ ballots.
The Dominion voting machines rejected the ballots, possibly because of a printing error on the ballot that did not allow the tabulators to “read” the ballot, officials said.
A public hearing on the 2023 Mercer County Budget will be finalized in a special formal meeting on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m.
The meeting agenda and the full list of adopted resolutions can be found at https://www.mercercounty.org/government/board-of-county-commissioners/meeting-agenda