Cochise supervisors review $585,000 contingency request for election equipment and vault expansion amid chain-of-custody questions

Supervisors at a Cochise County work session reviewed a proposal to draw $585,000 from contingency funds to buy two tabulators, two automated letter-openers and to remodel election office space to expand ballot storage and improve public observation areas.

Marty (Elections staff) told the board the package would pay for “two DS 9 fifty's core tabulators and then 2 Optiplex 4 10 letter openers” and for remodeling that would double the ballot storage cage and reconfigure adjacent treasurer space. Staff said the remodel is intended to reduce manual lifting and improve chain-of-custody tracking and public visibility for tabulation and logic-and-accuracy testing.

The board discussed how ballots are stored after canvass and cited a state statute (identified in the meeting as 16-6-24) that the group read as requiring deposit of official returns in a secure facility managed by the county treasurer for a retention period (the meeting cited 24 months for federal-office ballots, six months for other elections). Participants noted that current practice places ballots in the treasurer's vault after all canvasses and recounts are complete and that the elections director remains the custodian who controls destruction after the retention period.

Supervisors and staff debated whether the ballots’ physical storage in the treasurer’s vault creates a misaligned custody structure. One supervisor said the arrangement could create litigation risk and urged a legal review; staff committed to research the cited statute and return with clear language on custody and access. The board also discussed whether to separate the request into three action items at the next public meeting: (1) purchase of tabulators, (2) purchase of a new letter-opener, and (3) funding for the remodel/expanded ballot cage. That approach was supported by several supervisors during the work session so the board could vote on each element without conflating equipment and facility expenditures.

The meeting also included extended comments about whether to continue using tabulation machines or transition to hand counts. Several speakers described the operational and training requirements for any move away from machine tabulation, noting that a phased approach (for example, practicing hand counts on a small scale) would be required to avoid procedural problems in a real election. Staff cautioned that switching to hand counts would carry additional personnel, training and process costs and would require a separate, detailed planning discussion.

No formal vote occurred in the work session; staff said the items would be placed on a future agenda, with the equipment and remodel potentially presented as separate action items.

Clarifying details from the meeting: - Requested contingency amount: $585,000 (staff presentation). - Equipment discussed: two “DS 9 fifty” tabulators (as named in the presentation) and two “Optiplex 4 10” letter-openers (as named in the presentation). - Remodel scope: expand the ballot cage to approximately double storage capacity, reconfigure circulation so elections and treasurer functions have separate, secure spaces, and add cameras for public viewing and security. - Ballot retention periods (as cited in the meeting): 24 months for federal-office ballots, six months for other elections; proponents said ballots are retained in a secure treasurer-managed facility after canvass and recounts are complete.

The county attorney’s office and elections staff said they will return with statutory citations, recommended language on custody and a breakdown of cost and timing before the board takes any formal action.