Elections director seeks staff and O&M for two new early‑voting sites after turnout spike

Director of Elections Judy Brown asked the Board of Supervisors to approve staffing and operating requests to support expanded early voting sites and growing administrative needs.

Brown said the board previously voted to add two additional early voting sites in eastern Loudoun that will open in time for the November 2025 general election. The office requested a full‑time position devoted to managing early voting—Brown said one existing position currently spends about 50% of its time on early voting—and additional operating funds to outfit and operate the sites (the office estimated about $94,875 for O&M and one‑time setup to open two new sites). She also requested an operations assistant to centralize human resources, payroll, records retention and FOIA coordination for the elections office and to oversee onboarding and training of hundreds of seasonal election officers each year.

Brown told the board turnout trends have shifted: in 2020 she said 89,000 voters cast early ballots; the office projected 75,000 for the most recent election but recorded 92,000 early votes. She said early voting has grown while mail‑in voting declined, noting November general elections show larger ratios of early voting compared with June primaries.

County staff and supervisors discussed how operating and personnel costs are budgeted. Brown explained that the one‑time site outfitting and recurring election officer costs are mixed among personnel and O&M budget lines, and that reductions in O&M tied to limiting sites would also reduce temporary election worker costs.

Next steps: Brown said the office will proceed with site setup planning; supervisors indicated the O&M portion for two sites would be discussed at the wrap‑up session and that personnel requests would be considered in the final FY2026 budget decisions.