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Elections director previews 2025 schedule, absentee board changes and outreach; flags 700+ voter-record issues
Summary
Director Paula Saemstra reviewed the 2025 election schedule, new state rules affecting absentee and provisional ballots, an Election Expo on Sept. 18 and outreach events, and reported that over 700 voters were flagged for missing driver's license or Social Security numbers and have been sent letters to correct their records.
Paula Saemstra, Rockingham County's Director of Elections, provided a detailed update on the 2025 election schedule and changes to absentee- and provisional-ballot handling at the Aug. 19 meeting.
Saemstra said the office's schedule spans from Sept. 30 to Nov. 14, with the first absentee board meeting posted for Sept. 30 and absentee-by-mail ballots to be mailed starting Friday, Oct. 3. Logic-and-accuracy testing will be open to the public with advance notice (capacity limited), and a mock election to test uploads and ballot decryption is scheduled Oct. 2; that mock election is open to board members but not the general public.
Saemstra described new state-law changes that require absentee ballots to be reviewed election night unless a photo ID is missing; ballots with missing ID can be cured by the voter by the statutory cure deadline. She summarized the cure process and the timing for a provisional-absentee board meeting to resolve outstanding ballots before state transmittal deadlines.
Saemstra also reported that the State Board of Elections had identified about 700-plus Rockingham County voters lacking driver's license or Social Security numbers; letters were mailed to those voters and they were made inactive in the regular rolls pending correction. "If they come in to vote this municipal election and they have not updated their driver's license numbers or and or social security numbers they will be voting a provisional ballot," Saemstra said. She cited Oct. 10 as the voter-registration deadline for the municipal election and noted the cure and registration windows for absentee and provisional ballots.
On outreach, Saemstra highlighted a county-wide Election Expo at the elections office on Sept. 18 from 3 to 6 p.m. (voter registration, photo IDs, machine demonstrations, brochures) and several precinct events to recruit poll workers and provide sample ballots. She also noted the county's shared-spending program may allow departments to recover unspent funds for later needs if department goals are met.
No board action was required on the update; staff will post the corrected schedule and additional event details on the elections office website.
