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Caroline County election officials submit 2026 plan to SBE, report staffing and equipment readiness; board moves to closed session
Summary
The Caroline County Election Director told the board the county’s 2026 election plan has been submitted to the State Board of Elections for likely review in December, reported staffing and equipment tests, and noted 13 local candidates had filed; the board then voted to close the meeting for personnel matters.
The Caroline County Election Director told the county’s election board on Nov. 7 that the jurisdiction submitted its 2026 election plan to the State Board of Elections and expects that plan to be reviewed at an SBE meeting in early December.
“This 2026 election plan that you guys approved at your last meeting was submitted to SBE, and it's likely to be reviewed at their December 4 or December 11 board meeting,” said the Election Director.
Why it matters: the SBE review could affect administrative schedules and timelines for candidate filing and ballots if changes are recommended. The director also briefed the board on staffing, equipment testing and candidate filings ahead of the next election cycle.
In the report, the director said outreach to Election Field Support (EFS) yielded responses from four of eight previously engaged EFS workers who are willing to return in 2026, and that staff would recruit replacements for those who will not return. On staffing for election day, the director said the county needs “a minimum of a 103 judges to be fully staffed on election day including the on call judges,” and that an assignment report showed eight current vacancies.
The board was also told that the poll-book battery test has been completed as a single continuous test to estimate battery life. “The poll book battery test was completed and all quarterly voting equipment charging has also been completed,” the director said.
The director confirmed 13 candidates had filed for local contests as of Nov. 7 and provided a link to statewide candidate lists on the State Board of Elections website. Members acknowledged the recent death of an election judge, Mike Campbell of Denton, and said staff had expressed condolences to his family.
On election law and administration, the director said a prior law that required the State Board of Elections to mail absentee/mail-in ballot applications to all eligible voters has sunsetted and will not continue in 2026. “That law has now sunsetted, so that will no longer happen moving forward,” the director said, adding staff viewed the change as likely to reduce confusion and the number of provisional ballots cast by voters who mailed applications then voted in person.
The meeting included routine board business: members voted to accept the Oct. 10 minutes (the transcript records an affirmative "Aye"), discussed options for providing transportation to older voters in the county's northern end, and set the next meeting for Dec. 12 at 11 a.m. with a holiday luncheon to follow.
Before adjourning the open session, the board voted to close the meeting under the Open Meetings Act, General Provisions Article §3-305(b)(1), to discuss personnel matters related to appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, discipline, demotion, compensation, removal, resignation or performance evaluation of appointees and employees. The transcript records motions to close and to adjourn the open meeting; an affirmative "Aye" is recorded in the public transcript before the board proceeded to closed session.
The board did not take any further public actions before moving into the closed session. The next public meeting is scheduled for Dec. 12 at 11:00 a.m., with staff to post the agenda and meeting notice.
