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Elections office outlines readiness plan, warns of limited federal support and rising equipment costs
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Summary
Coconino County elections staff said local funding will remain the bulk of election costs, described contingency and cybersecurity planning for the year’s elections, and flagged a multi-year equipment-replacement cycle that may require major capital outlays if federal or state support is not available.
The county elections director told supervisors that delivering free, accessible elections this year will rely primarily on local resources and that the office is preparing contingency, security and outreach plans ahead of the midterm cycle.
Eslier Musca emphasized four priorities: staffing and training for poll workers, geographically distributed and accessible polling places, secure ballots and audited processes, and cybersecurity and contingency planning. The office said federal and state funding for election administration covered less than 3% of needed resources in the prior year; private grants are disallowed by state policy, leaving most costs to counties.
Elections staff noted challenges: increased ballot complexity at the state level (competing propositions), some community venues expressing hesitation about hosting polling places amid the charged political climate, and an industry shift that has shortened the replacement lifecycle on tabulators and accessible voting machines. The department presented a 10‑year equipment plan and asked the board to maintain the voter-tabulation replacement fund; the manager has proposed a placeholder transfer but the county will likely need to fund significant capital costs locally if federal support does not materialize.
SIRs the office brought forward included operating funds for the primary and general elections, continued subscription/medical-cost coverage for employee exposures on election duty, and a $100,000 addition to the voter-tabulation replacement capital fund to cover emerging timing risks. The director said staff will return to the board with detailed operational plans for poll-worker training, polling-site distribution and contingency communications before the primary.
What’s next: the elections office will present an expanded readiness update to the board on June 2, with polling-location confirmations and training calendars.
