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Electoral board postpones poll-book purchase decision, flags budget shortfall and readies polling logistics
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Summary
Board members postponed a vote on buying full electronic poll books after Mr. Witt signaled a request to buy all units at once; members also flagged a roughly $4,600 budget shortfall, noted $3,000 remaining in a civic-and-tech grant, set training dates and discussed HAVA compliance for polling places.
Charlotte County election officials deferred a decision May 3 about whether the Board of Supervisors would buy the full number of electronic poll books in a single fiscal year after the Interim Registrar said Mr. Witt planned to request that purchase.
The Interim Registrar told the board he had received information from Mr. Witt about the poll-book purchase and that Mr. Witt intended to ask the Board of Supervisors to buy the entire amount needed rather than split the purchase over two fiscal years. Board members asked Mr. Witt for clarification; Mr. Witt was not present and the chairman postponed any vote until the quantity and purchasing plan were confirmed.
The board reviewed near-term costs: ballot printing, logic-and-accuracy testing on voting machines and office supplies are expected in May; officers-of-election pay is scheduled for June. Chairman Lawrence Clark said $3,000 remained in a Civic and Tech Life grant that must be spent by June 30. Member Kay Pierantoni warned the board already faces a budget shortfall of about $4,600 and that assistant staff hours had increased from 20 to 29 per week, noting that hazard pay previously awarded to the registrar and board might have been used to cover some costs.
Vice Chairman Warren Browning also noted a comparison prepared by Mr. Witt showing Charlotte County's elections are proportionally more expensive than neighboring counties and suggested visiting those counties to review practices.
Operational items for the June primary included approving officers of election, confirming training June 1'June 3, notifying party chairs of officer assignments (the Democratic Party chair had not received the list) and preparing polling places. The board discussed improvements to Southall Church to make it suitable as a polling place; Secretary Glenwood Foster suggested asking the county building inspector to inspect polling locations for Help America Vote Act (HAVA) compliance to reduce liability.
Key calendar dates reiterated were June 5 as the last day for early voting and June 8 as the last day for candidate filing. The board did not vote on the poll-book purchase and deferred procurement decisions until Mr. Witt could provide the approved purchase quantity.