Allegany County elections board approves early voting site and drop-box locations, plans staffing and training

The Allegany County Board of Elections on Aug. 5 approved the early voting center and ballot drop box locations recommended by staff for the 2026 gubernatorial election and discussed a staffing plan, background-check requirements and training for handling drop-box pickups.

Board members unanimously approved the staff recommendation to use the Alleghany County Office Complex at 701 Kelly Road, Room 100 in Cumberland, as the primary early voting center and to keep the same ballot drop box locations used previously, including the Alleghany County Complex and Mountain Ridge School in Frostburg. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) for each location was provided to board members for review; a motion to accept the early voting center and a separate motion to accept the drop-box locations were made and approved during the meeting. The transcript records the board approving both motions with all members voting "Aye," but it does not provide a numeric roll-call tally.

The board spent significant time on operations and training needed to support the plan. Wendy, the elections administrator, outlined a full mock election and training timeline to prepare new staff for the gubernatorial election, saying the office plans to simulate the full election process from Oct. 1 through Oct. 17, including a mail-in ballot canvas on Oct. 14 and provisional and MIB (mail-in ballot) processing days. "I would need to have some of the board members present during some of our canvassing just to let everybody see how that process actually works," Wendy told the board.

Wendy said the mock exercise is intended to give experience to new employees; the office expects four of five employees will be new to managing a gubernatorial election. Staff will provide a more detailed timeline at the next meeting so board members can plan to attend canvass and processing sessions.

On staffing for drop-box pickups, board members and staff discussed hiring temporary workers to collect and transport ballots from drop boxes to the election office. The discussion covered how many people will be needed, bipartisan pairing expectations, fingerprinting and background checks required for drop-box handlers, pay, and scheduling. Board members agreed they would continue to perform the paperwork and supervisory duties while hiring local staff to do the physical pickups.

The administrator estimated roughly 63 pickup events (including double pickups) across locations and proposed a rough per-trip pay estimate of about $36, calculated using 70 cents per mile plus $15 per hour; final budget numbers will depend on the eventual schedule and the number of hires. "We can't wait till the last minute to get this done," a board member said regarding fingerprinting and background checks, and Wendy said the office would begin recruitment efforts late in the year and aim to have names and training in place by February.

Warehouse and equipment readiness were also discussed. Wendy said the office sent a certificate of liability to the State Board of Elections (SBE) in July, had received cameras from IT for the warehouse, and met with the county public works director, who plans to begin updating the warehouse space on Oct. 1 with a hoped-for completion date of Jan. 1. The workspace expansion is expected to add roughly 1,000 square feet and create a permanent storage location for ballot bins.

Administrative and staffing updates included a posted election registrar position (application deadline July 16) with interviews scheduled for Aug. 7, an ongoing quarterly equipment charging schedule completed on July 25, and preparations for National Voter Registration Day set for Sept. 16 (tentatively 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) in coordination with Frostburg State University. Wendy said the office had received 11 applicants to interview for the registrar role and that the election judge recruitment effort had returned 130 "yes" responses and two "no" responses so far.

Wendy also provided voter-registration statistics for July: Democrats 10,844; Republicans 23,760; Green Party 56; Working Class Party 57; Unaffiliated 9,245; Others 770; totaling 44,732 registered voters. The office reported 148 address changes, 88 name changes, 35 confirmation mailings sent and four responses received.

Board members asked staff to return to the next meeting with a breakdown of proposed pickup schedules, the likely number of temporary employees needed, and estimated costs so the board can finalize recruitment and training plans. The next regular meeting was confirmed for Sept. 2.

Ending

Board members approved the staff recommendations on the early voting center and drop-box locations and directed staff to proceed with recruitment, background checks and mock-election scheduling; staff will present a proposed pickup schedule and staffing breakdown at the next meeting.