Shenandoah County Electoral Board elects Jacob French chair, limits public comment and sets election schedule

The Shenandoah County Electoral Board unanimously elected Jacob French as chair, limited public comments to three minutes and approved administrative steps to prepare for upcoming elections, members recorded in meeting minutes.

At the meeting on April 6, Vice Chair Beverly Harrison moved and Secretary Gayle Wellard seconded the motion to elect Jacob French as Chair; the motion passed unanimously. The board also voted unanimously to approve the minutes of April 6. The board later moved to limit public comment at meetings to three minutes per person.

To assist with election logistics, the board unanimously approved a motion to contact Democratic and Republican Party chairs to request paid workers to assist with delivery of election equipment on Monday, April 20 and Wednesday, April 22 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the minutes list pay for those workers at $125 per day.

Registrar Lisa W. McDonald presented routine administrative items: the Merlin system was updated by the vendor and Logic & Accuracy (L&A) testing had been completed for certain OVO and OVI equipment related to the April election. Later planning notes included L&A testing dates for CAP machines on June 12 and for precinct machines on July 24, new early‑voting hours and holiday closures for the August 4 Republican Primary, and the November 3 general and town election schedule.

The board requested the Registrar schedule Board of Supervisors room dates in July for training sessions and to update contact names on training slides and chiefs’ boxes to reflect the new chair. Regular board meeting dates through December 2026 were set and recorded in the minutes. The meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.