Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Elections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County reports turnout of 10,972 in April special election and flags potential voting-equipment upgrade
Summary
Elections staff reported 10,972 ballots cast in the April 21 special election (3,731 in-person early votes at the office), total election cost of $23,383.59, and discussed seeking state reimbursement and the potential need for about $100,000 in new voting equipment.
Wythe County elections staff reported to the Board of Supervisors on May 12 that the April 21 special election produced a countywide turnout of 10,972 voters, including 3,731 voters who used in-person early voting at the registrar’s office.
Elections official (speaker 19) said the total cost of administering the special election was $23,383.59 and that the county planned to file for state reimbursement after a booster appropriation in the state budget; staff expected to pursue filing in June and hoped for a full or substantial reimbursement, subject to state program limits.
Board members and elections staff discussed crowding and longer waits around peak early-voting days (staff counted more than 100 attempts to vote on the Monday before election day, and close to 200 attempts on election day), possible operational mitigations (for example, stationing officers of election at the registrar’s office to assist lookups), and whether to request new voting equipment. Administrator and elections staff estimated new equipment would cost roughly $100,000; staff noted options to reduce that cost by using the county’s existing machine shells and replacing only ballot tabulators.
The board did not take a final purchasing vote but asked that the elections office and the budget committee examine equipment options and funding sources going forward.
