County clerk urges creation of election administrator as entities and workload grow

County Clerk Pam (County Clerk) asked Cooke County commissioners during budget hearings to create and fund an election administrator (EA) position to centralize election administration and relieve her office of recurring, time-consuming election duties. She told the court that the county now handles multiple, fragmented entity elections and that an EA would provide continuity, centralize voter history and simplify compliance with recent state requirements.

Pam said an EA would reduce confusion voters experienced when municipal entities used separate polling locations and schedules. She described situations in which voters “came up to the door to vote because they thought that voting was taking place in the annex” and then declined to travel to the correct location, reducing participation. She added that some entities lack the staff, systems and experience to meet new post‑election posting requirements and that an EA could absorb those duties.

The county clerk laid out funding questions the court must consider, including whether entities that contract county services would contribute to salary and operating costs. Pam said some entities had signaled willingness to pay but that local appropriations can be inconsistent: “Any city can say, ‘Yeah, we’ll contribute,’ and then not budget it.” She also explained contract accounting mechanics that affect cost recovery: the county can bill entities for staff time, machine rent and cost allocations if the county runs their elections.

Pam described a statutory change (a recent state house bill) altering early‑voting schedules — moving to a 12‑day voting period — and said that will affect scheduling, staffing and the workload her office must absorb when entities require the county to provide election services.

IT Director Daryl Hober and other staff signaled support for the EA. Hober said he spends multiple days each year assisting with voting‑machine testing and that an EA would reduce the operational burden on county IT.

Commissioners asked about timing and implementation. Pam and others discussed whether an EA could be hired and operational in time for the next election cycle and whether the cost should be included in the next fiscal budget year. No formal motion or budget decision was recorded during the hearing.

The discussion concluded with agreement to continue budget deliberations and to schedule follow‑up talks so commissioners and staff can evaluate costs, potential entity contributions and timing for hiring an EA.