Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Voting Technology topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Harnett County board approves ballot‑on‑demand machines, new election specialist and polling‑place changes
Summary
The board approved purchasing a ballot‑on‑demand system for five early voting sites (quote: $83,700 upfront; $14,000 annual maintenance), approved making Ben Haven Community Center a permanent election‑day site and moving Overhills High School's election‑day site to Anderson Creek Fire Department, and authorized asking commissioners to add a third election specialist.
The Harnett County board voted to move forward on several election‑administration changes: approving procurement of a ballot‑on‑demand system for early voting, confirming changes to some election‑day polling locations, and asking the county commissioners to add a third election specialist in the elections office.
The elections director presented a vendor quote for ballot‑on‑demand printing at five early voting locations and a price analysis showing potential savings in ballot stock and staff time. The director summarized the costs: “the upfront cost is 83,000” and annual maintenance would be “14,000.” Staff said the system can print individual ballots at check‑in (reducing ballot‑style errors) and can be used from the office to print emergency ballots on election day if a site runs out.
Board members questioned staffing implications and savings. The director said the machines typically have laptop components and printers and estimated a useful life similar to voting machines (about 10 years) and that training and yearly software maintenance are included in vendor support. Director noted larger counties have adopted the system and that early voting sees the most ballot styles (the director said the county had 44 ballot styles during the 2024 primary).
After discussion, the board voted to pursue the ballot‑on‑demand purchase and to present funding requests to the county commissioners; the motion carried by voice vote. The board also approved making Ben Haven Community Center a permanent election‑day site in the Overhills/Anderson Creek area and separately approved moving Overhills High School’s election‑day site to Anderson Creek Fire Department after debate about voter confusion; in at least one instance a board member’s opposition led the chair to cast the deciding vote to carry the motion.
The director also asked the board to seek commissioners’ approval to add a third election specialist to the office, citing a staffing ratio many counties use (about one specialist per 30,000 registered voters) and noting Harnett County has “over 90,000” registered voters. The board approved asking the commissioners to add the position.
Staff updated the board on the registration repair project: the office has corrected “a little over 200” registrations and reported about 1,783 records still need updates out of roughly 92,000 registered voters; the state board recently mailed a follow‑up notice to those voters. The board later went into closed session for personnel matters under cited statutes read aloud during the meeting. The board adjourned and scheduled its next meeting for Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
