Onslow voting crunch
January 26,2005
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
The DAILY NEWS STAFF

County election officials say a surge in registered voters has left Onslow behind the eight-ball and in need of new voting machines, staff and space.

Rose Whitehurst, director of the county Board of Elections, said that since October 1999, the voter rolls have almost doubled - from 38,000 to 69,000. In addition, the board also faces the challenge of meeting guidelines included in the federal Helping America to Vote Act, established in 2002 as a response to the now-notorious problems experienced in Florida during the 2000 election.

According to HAVA, each voting precinct must have either direct-record electronic (DRE) machines or optical scanners by January 2006.

Onslow County still uses punch-card voting, a system Whitehurst said needs to be d.

"Punch cards were good in their day," Whitehurst said. "But with the voting now, it's very labor intensive. (My staff and poll workers) can tell you, it is not a fun situation. There are so many steps just to get the things running."

The new machines run between $3,000 and $6,500 each. Whitehurst said the country will need about 300 machines - about one machine for every 250 voters.

Onslow has received about $70,000 in HAVA grants, but Whitehurst said it will not be enough to pay for all the machines. Moreover, she said, the county Board of Elections can't purchase any new voting equipment until the state board supplies Whitehurst and her staff with a list of approved venders.

The state board, in turn, is waiting for a newly created legislative committee to decide on what type of voting equipment it will allow for use in North Carolina.

"With all the hold-up, with the (federal Election Assistance Commission) not doing their job up top, we're all waiting with bated breath," Whitehurst said.

And the wait will continue. Don Wright, general counsel for the North Carolina Board of Elections, said the EAC, a federal regulatory body formed in 2002 as a result of the HAVA legislation, did not release its approved vendor's list by January 2004, when it had originally said it would.

Wright said delays in appointing EAC members to the commission and insufficient funding has been a setback for the entire country. Everyone is waiting on the EAC's guidelines, he said.

"States aren't going to step out on their own," Wright said. "Nobody wants to step out and perhaps be the only state with particular guidelines if the EAC's decision is a good product and accepted by every other state. States are looking at guidelines, as we are, but it's doubtful that any state will produce guidelines."

Whitehurst said the county will need to purchase the equipment sometime this summer to have it in place by next January. Because of high demand, vendors have given a 90-day turn around time from the date of order to the date of receipt.

"It's not just North Carolina," Whitehurst said. "Other states are in the same boat."

Whitehurst said the next step will be testing some of the machines during municipal elections.

"It's important to get as much testing done as possible before they come down with the list," Whitehurst said.

Whitehurst also said the local elections board plans to combine the Mills and Morton precincts northeast of Jacksonville. Each has less than 1,000 voters.

Whitehurst said some precincts will be split in the future because of long lines, but that won't happen until at least 2006.

"You must have equipment (to make new precincts)," she said, "and that is expensive."

The Board of Elections is also tight on space. Whitehurst and staff are looking into leasing new office space at an old bank building at 700 Court St. The building would lease for $3,250 per month plus utilities.

The current office is located at 521 Mill Ave., and has about 374 square feet of usable office space for four staffers. Whitehurst said they would need at least 800 square feet for future expansion.

They will also need another 400 square feet of storage space for the new voting machines. Off-site storage would cost about $840 per month for 1,200 square feet.

Commissioner Delma Collins said he understands the problems the elections board is facing.

"We need a bigger building, no doubt about it," Collins said. "God knows, I don't know how they do as well as they do. I'm afraid some of those voting tabulators are going to fall on someone."

Collins said he would be willing to look into the bank building, but he still wants to keep options open.

"I do believe, while we need more space, I'm not ready to commit to the building mentioned until we have more input from staff," Collins said, adding he wants to make sure the phone set-up is compatible with a new phone system requested by the Board of Election to deal with increased call volume during election seasons.

"I don't think it was a wild, out of left field request," he said. "I just want to get the best deal."

And while he has not discussed the matter with them yet, Collins said he believes the rest of the commissioners - even those newly elected - understand the challenges facing the Board of Elections.

"They saw the lines, they saw the problems," Collins said. "It's not like they didn't get an opportunity to see what was happening."