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Faulkner County forwards resolution to allow lease of unused voting machines to Montgomery County
Summary
A Faulkner County meeting voted to forward proposed Resolution 2503 to the full board so the county can lease hundreds of unused voting machines to Montgomery County to free storage space; the machines can be recalled and the lease renews annually.
A Faulkner County meeting voted to forward proposed Resolution 2503 to the full board to allow the county to lease hundreds of unused voting machines to Montgomery County, officials said.
County officials said the lease would clear limited storage space in the elections office while allowing the machines to be recalled if Faulkner County later needs them.
At the meeting, Miss Sarger, an elections staff member, described the storage and preparation burden the machines create and explained why leasing is being considered. “We have hundreds of machines,” Sarger said, and added that preparing them requires significant work: “They all have to be programmed. They all have to be LNA tested, and it's a lot of work.”
Officials said opening additional polling locations helped, but did not eliminate the storage pressures. Sarger recounted that the county opened the library on general election day and that about 1,000 voters used that location, which reduced load on the Beat Center. She said adding another location may help but options such as churches pose complications and that the matter likely will not be resolved until January.
A staff member noted legal authority in the background of the discussion, saying, “The judge doesn't need your permission to lease the machine,” and described the resolution as a gesture to keep the court and county aligned. The lease text discussed at the meeting allows either party to terminate the agreement and is structured as an annual lease that can be renewed each year.
After discussion, the meeting chair called for a motion. The body voted by voice to forward proposed Resolution 2503 to the full board; the motion passed and the resolution will be considered by the full board. The meeting record did not identify a mover, a seconder, or a roll-call tally for the voice vote.
Next steps: the forwarded resolution will appear on the full board agenda for final action. Officials said the machines could be recalled when needed and that the lease term is renewable annually.
