Harrisonburg elections director reports high provisional and absentee volumes, proposes tech fixes and modest pay raises for technicians and chiefs

Mark, the city’s Director of Elections, presented a comprehensive post‑election and administrative report at the Harrisonburg City Electoral Board meeting on Jan. 13, detailing turnout, provisional and absentee ballots, technology issues and a proposed modest pay increase for equipment technicians and precinct chiefs.

Turnout and ballots: Mark reported 27,645 registered voters at the close of the November election and 17,455 ballots cast — about a 63% turnout of registered voters in the city. He estimated the total citizen population over 18 in the city at roughly 40,400, meaning registered voters made up about 68% of that eligible population. Provisional ballots received totaled 2,489, of which 2,342 were counted after review. The director provided a method breakdown: 40.42% of votes cast were during early voting, 39.34% on election day, 13.51% were provisionally cast, 6.5% by mail and a 0.23% post‑election balance.

Absentee and mail ballots: For mail absentee ballots the office mailed out 1,245 ballots plus 135 (one‑time or other) requests for a combined 1,380 absentee ballots issued. Of those mailed, 46 were received but rejected (uncured through the cure process), 45 were returned undeliverable, 1,127 were counted, and 91 of the mailed ballots were never received by the deadline (with roughly 15 received after the deadline). Mark estimated the per‑mailed‑ballot physical cost (envelope, ballot, etc.) at $2.40, postage at $2.31…