Cochise County supervisors review higher election fees, ballot translation and poll‑worker pay

Cochise County supervisors on Tuesday reviewed proposed changes to how the county bills municipalities for county‑run elections, discussed ballot formatting and Spanish translations, and debated increased pay and training for poll workers.

Melissa Avant, Cochise County elections director, told the board the county currently uses a bundled contract that effectively charges about 75¢ per registered voter under the county contract, with an $800 minimum and a $250 cancellation fee, and covers poll workers, equipment delivery and ballot production. "My recommendation would go to $3 per registered voter that would help with the long term sustainability and cost recovery efforts," Avant said during the work session.

County Recorder Billy Cloud described costs for standalone municipal elections and said the recorder sometimes charges about $3.50 for services related to ballots and returns. "So, basically, our cost for the stand alone ... we charge $3.50," Cloud said, explaining that municipalities that choose standalone elections still receive bundled services the county provides.

The board discussed whether the county should continue a simple per‑voter flat fee or move to a more detailed billing method that accounts for number of vote centers, precinct staffing and equipment. Melissa Avant warned that line‑item invoicing for each jurisdiction would increase administrative work and said a higher flat rate could reduce complexity.

Staff showed examples of equipment and programming costs — including bundled ExpressVote machines, tabulators and poll books — that can run into the tens of thousands of dollars for a jurisdiction. Avant cited statewide per‑registered‑voter cost ranges she compiled and said Cochise County’s proposed $3 rate would place it near the middle of other counties’ practices.

Board members also raised practical issues that affect voter experience and processing time. Staff displayed a sample jurisdictional ballot for a City of Douglas recall with 15 propositions that created a 19‑inch sheet; staff said multi‑page ballots can increase the average voter processing time from roughly 9 minutes up to 20 minutes, contributing to longer lines on election day.

The session included a discussion about Spanish translations. Staff noted Cochise County no longer appears on the Department of Justice bilingual‑materials list, which means a legal mandate for Spanish translations is not currently in force in the county. Still, several board members urged continuing translations as an outreach practice. "I don't want to disenfranchise them," one member said, arguing the county should continue providing Spanish ballot materials.

Separately, the board discussed poll‑worker compensation and training. Staff described current election‑day pay ranges used across counties and training expectations (inspectors and judges commonly receive five to eight hours of training). Board members requested a staff estimate of the budget impact of raising per‑worker compensation and of increasing training pay and expense reimbursement.

On timing and next steps, staff advised the standard intergovernmental agreement under discussion could not take effect earlier than Jan. 1, 2027, and recommended giving municipalities time to include changes in their budgets (staff suggested a July 1 budgeting target). The board directed staff to draft a resolution and IGA language for placement on a future agenda, including adding the recorder to the IGA signatory line, with formal consideration at a subsequent board meeting.

The board did not take a final vote during the work session; staff will prepare the resolution and budget impact estimates for future consideration.