Alana Congdon and Elizabeth Livesey, representing the Tompkins County Board of Elections, told the Government Operations Committee on Aug. 7 that any relocation strategy must account for voting‑machine storage, programming, testing and ballot scanning functions.

Operational constraints and machine handling

Livesey said the office’s equipment is used for testing, programming ballots, scanning absentee ballots and tallying election results, and that technicians and staff must interact with the entire system in the weeks before and during elections. She warned that splitting equipment between separate locations would complicate testing, increase time and expense, and raise the potential for mistakes or delays in official results.

Context on Dutch Mill Road and next steps

Committee members noted a prior decision not to move the Board of Elections to the newly purchased Dutch Mill Road property; Livesey and Congdon said a permanent BOE space is still desirable and that the office needs proximity between staff and machines to perform pre‑election workflows. Committee members said they will continue planning and examine permanent space options that keep machine operations consolidated.

Ending

No formal committee action was taken; committee members directed staff to continue coordinating relocation planning with the Board of Elections so that machine workflows remain intact and secure.