Douglas County election office seeks adjacent 5,000‑sq‑ft expansion to ease early‑voting crowding

The Douglas County Election Commission asked the county’s Administrative Services Committee to pursue leasing roughly 5,000 square feet of adjacent space to reduce long in‑person lines, add workstations for petition processing and improve ADA and curbside access.

The request, presented by election office staff, would add the adjacent space to the commission’s existing lease through 2029 with two five‑year renewal options. The commission said the landlord will rent the space to the elections office at about $7.25 per square foot and that the office has budgeted construction funds to connect the two spaces; staff said they are not asking for a supplemental county appropriation this year and would ask the county to include the additional annual lease cost — about $36,000 — in the next budget cycle.

Commission staff said demand for in‑person services has grown steadily. “The reason we're asking for this expansion is not for myself or for the staff. It's for the voters of Douglas County to serve them better,”…