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Beaufort board presses state funding, warns of procurement timing risks for new voting equipment
Summary
Board members debated whether the State Election Commission's budget will cover new scanners and whether the county must plan to backfill any shortfall; staff said the November election is not in jeopardy but urged contingency planning due to differing equipment models and procurement timelines.
Beaufort County election officials spent a large portion of their May 22 meeting debating whether state funding will cover a planned upgrade to voting equipment and what to do if it does not.
Staff used May 13 registration data to forecast turnout for the November general election and proposed equipment and poll-worker needs to match expected turnout. The forecast estimated 75% overall turnout with 60% on election day and projected the county would need "208 electronic poll books, 85 DS200 scanners" and about "771 poll workers," up from 443 in 2022, according to staff.
Board members focused on whether the State Election Commission (SEC) would provide funds for a statewide purchase of newer DS300 scanners. "The Senate approved…
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