Harnett County elections staff approve move to Alexander Drive facility to consolidate operations

The Harnett County Board of Elections voted to relocate its offices and election storage to the county’s Alexander Drive facility, a move staff said will place administrative offices and equipment under one roof and remove the need to travel to an offsite warehouse.

Board members and staff said the new facility offers larger office space, on-site storage and alarmed areas, but they raised concerns about shared conference rooms and general building traffic and asked that secured rooms and badge access be used for election equipment and ballots.

“We have an obligation of maintaining chain of custody on everything that we do,” board member Robert Beck said during the discussion, noting that open corridors and shared spaces complicate security and evidence of custody. Beck asked that the board be allowed to consolidate into more contiguous office space and to limit public foot traffic past secure storage rooms.

County staff described the building layout and security features. Brent Brown and Mike Mar, county staff present for the discussion, said the site is alarmed and camera‑equipped; staff advised card‑access or mag‑lock strikes for secure areas in the rear of the building. The county confirmed cameras and an alarm system cover the back portion of the building proposed for secure storage; staff said two rooms used by Arc/Central Carolina and other tenants are part of a lease that runs through 2029 and the county may reassign spaces only as leases and tenant needs allow.

During the briefing, staff also confirmed that some rooms in the building are shared county conference and kitchen spaces and that fire code prevents locking or gating primary ingress/egress points. Staff said minor modifications and staging can be accomplished by county facilities over the next three to four months to have the move completed before the next election cycle.

After the discussion, a motion to approve the move passed; the board recorded no roll-call tally in the transcript but board members indicated assent and staff said they would coordinate staging and facilities support. Staff said they would prepare a timeline and handle minor construction or security modifications as needed.

The board also discussed equipment security measures. Staff said cameras and the facility alarm cover the storage area and that card-access for secure rooms would be implemented; staff agreed to confirm specific mag-lock and camera coverage and provide the board a detailed security plan before moving ballots and voting machines.

The decision centralizes elections operations but leaves open questions about long-term space availability. Staff said a school and several other organizations currently occupy portions of the building under lease; the county will honor existing leases and re-evaluate space assignments only as leases expire or needs change.

What’s next: Facilities and elections staff will coordinate a staged move and provide updates to the board. Staff said they plan to complete relocation work within three or four months and aim to have the new facility operational prior to the next major election.