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Board of Elections requests new laptops and an additional technician to meet processing timelines
Summary
The county’s Board of Elections told commissioners it needs to replace aging precinct laptops and add one election technician to comply with practical reporting deadlines for provisional and absentee ballots, citing a compressed operational window after election day.
A Board of Elections representative identified in the record as "Jackson" told Pender County commissioners April 30 that precinct laptops used for early voting and election day are at end of life and the office needs capital to replace them.
Jackson also asked for one election technician position to help the office meet workload peaks during elections. He explained that while a statute allows three days for certain post‑election work, operational reporting to the state shortens that to a narrower window: "The statute says 3, but it's really 2 and a half days because I have to report those numbers to Raleigh by 5 on Friday," he told commissioners. The additional technician would assist with absentee and provisional ballot processing during the compressed period and with geocoding and campaign finance support during non‑election times.
Why it matters: replacing aging equipment and adding staff are routine parts of election administration. The board described these items as necessary to meet statutory or practical reporting timelines and to manage increasingly complex election administration duties.
What’s next: commissioners thanked the elections official for the presentation; no formal county action was taken at the session but the requests will be considered with other budget items.
