The Athens Elections Board voted to add the city’s tennis center as an advanced voting location for the November election, replacing the downtown library for the same dates and hours.

Board members approved the swap after discussion about turnout, convenience for voters and staffing costs. One board member, Miss Riley, registered opposition during the vote. Elections staff said the office budgeted for two locations in preliminary 2026 elections projections and that adding the tennis center would increase personnel costs for the election period.

The board discussed turnout figures from recent low-turnout elections, noting that June turnout was below 7% and a subsequent runoff was under 5%, and that those lower participation rates informed the conversation about which sites to open for advanced voting. Elections staff said the office has historically used the library as a high-use advanced site and that the tennis center would be an added location to test whether voters will use a more proximate facility for some neighborhoods.

Budget and staffing were central to discussion. Elections staff described a rough staffing calculation for the tennis-center option, noting the additional hours and poll-worker pay required; staff members said the 2026 budget projections already include funding for two locations but that if the board commits to the tennis-center plan the office may need to request additional funds or reallocate budgeted amounts.

The motion on the floor — to replace the library advanced-voting site with the tennis center for the listed dates and hours — was moved and seconded on the record; the chair called the vote and the motion carried with one known opposition. The board said it would review turnout and operational results after the election to decide whether to repeat or refine the arrangement in future cycles.

The board also discussed logistics such as hours (several proposed windows were 8 a.m.–5 p.m., 9 a.m.–4 p.m. and weekend coverage), and whether reducing the number of advanced days would be appropriate for a low-turnout election. Several members argued for keeping broader access across more days to avoid inadvertent voter inconvenience.

The board set next steps: finalize the sample ballot once races are certified, publish the advanced-voting schedule to the usual channels (the office’s website and MyLoan/sample ballot tools), and inform voters of the site change with outreach and signage.