Proposed budget boosts election spending: Prince William officials aim to fix issues that led to long lines, voter complaints

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — The proposed Prince William County budget would significantly increase spending for the Office of Elections by nearly $800,000, targeting issues that led to voter complaints in 2018 just in time for the 2020 presidential primary.

County Executive Christopher Martino presented his budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 to the Board of County Supervisors, telling board members the increased funding includes about $300,000 for the March 2020 presidential primary plus another $400,000 for Election Day equipment.

Problems during the Nov. 6, 2018, mid-term election led Prince William to experience the second highest rate of voter complaints in the state. Those issues generally stemmed from inadequate staffing and equipment at polling places, and the budget proposal would address those issues. As the county’s population continues to grow, so do the number of voters — and the need for more staff and equipment to conduct elections.

“It’s a significant investment in the community and our democratic process,” said Dave Sinclair, director the county’s Office of Management and Budget.

Money Targets Critical Needs

The county currently spends $2.64 million for the Office of Elections, which amounts to 3.14 percent of its general expenditures. That money pays for voter registration, conducting elections and maintaining voter records as wells as staff salaries and training.

In the budget proposal, two election-related items are listed as “must do” items with the greatest sense of urgency — adding electronic poll books and preparing for the 2020 presidential primary. Two other items were listed as “critical needs” — adding an assistant registrar and purchasing optical scan readers.

The proposed budget would raise spending by $778,475 from the fiscal year 2019 level of $1.86 million to $2.63 million. That 42 percent increase is one of the largest for any agency in this budget cycle, Sinclair said.

It would address three specific areas:

• Presidential Primary. The additional $300,000 in funding would cover the cost of conducting the election, set for “Super Tuesday,” March 3, 2020. That includes voting machine programming and testing, paper ballot printing, staffing, supplies, and Election Officer compensation. The cost would be split, with $135,000 from county revenue and $165,000 from state revenue.

• Additional Staffing. It would add one fulltime position to the current staff of 14, an assistant registrar at a cost of $56,771, to help with updating voter registration information.

• Election Day Equipment. The budget includes funding for essential equipment needed to conduct and certify elections, including:

• The “must do” purchase of electronic poll books for $114,371, which is a recurring yearly expense. The equipment is mandated by the state and vendors are approved by the state, but the cost is borne by each local jurisdiction.
• The “critical need” for 46 additional ballot scanners for $288,734. The one-time expenditure would mean 51 of the county’s 94 precincts would have two scanners available.

Reduce Election Day Lines

These items would address the issue that led to Prince William tallying the second highest number of voter complaints — 69 — in the state following the November 2018 election. About half of those complaints — 49 percent — stemmed from long lines at polling places, while another 23 percent involved voting equipment.

A report by the State Board of Elections found that “Prince William County’s staffing at polling places seems to be outside the norm.” The county used fewer election officers than other localities with a similar number of registered voters. “Inadequate staffing at polling locations can, and in November 2018, did contribute to long lines,” the report concluded.

In addition, the Board of Elections report noted that an insufficient number of voting machines and electronic poll books also can lead to complaints about equipment and long lines. In November, that created a domino effect, leaving voters waiting first to check in to vote, then to scan their ballots after they’d voted.

“Having only one voting machine/scanner in each polling location (as Prince William County did) combined with a high voter turnout created a situation where voters were waiting to cast their ballots after having marked them,” the Board of Elections report said. “The wait at the scanner resulted in a wait at voter check-in, thus resulting in long lines.”

The new Election Day equipment would help alleviate those long lines, Sinclair said. “This would help eliminate a choke point,” he said, when voters wait to feed their ballots into the scanner.

Increased Voter Registration Reflects Population Growth

Meanwhile, the county has taken other steps to address these problems by adding two new voting precincts by splitting the two largest precincts in the county. State law requires polling places to serve no fewer than 500 and no more than 5,000 registered voters. The two split precincts are:

• Bristow Run in the Brentsville Magisterial District, which had 4,879 registered voters.
• Potomac Precinct in the Potomac Magisterial District, which had 4,785 registered voters.

A September 2018 internal audit of the Office of Elections showed Prince William’s average number of voters per precinct falls in the middle of neighboring jurisdictions at 3,061 voters. Ten precincts currently serve more 3,900 voters — including the two that already have been split — but because of redistricting issues, no additional precincts can be added before the 2020 elections.

That same audit found Prince William has experienced a marked increase in voter registrations, in large part due to the 15 percent increase in population over the past 10 years, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Among neighboring jurisdictions, Prince William registered the highest number of voters — 2,550 — from April to June 2018.

The new assistant registrar would help with the increased workload stemming from the growing population. The budget proposal indicates there has been a 10 percent increase in registered voters since fiscal year 2014, the last time new elections staff was added, as well as a 454 percent increase in absentee votes cast.

“This position is to help meet those workload increases,” Sinclair said. In addition, the five-year budget proposal calls for adding one additional staff member in each fiscal year 2021 and 2022 — one of whom would be on staff before the 2020 presidential election.

Martino released the budget proposal Feb. 19 in a presentation to the Board of County Supervisors.

County officials will hold a series of public workshops on the 2020 budget, culminating with a recap and public hearing April 9. The board is expected to approve a final version of the budget later in April, and it will take effect on July 1.