HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard Meeting Agenda Packet 04-15-2025MEETING AGENDA
Date: April 15, 2025 Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Bd of Elections Office, Conference Room Type: Regular
Scheduled Attendees:
Derrick R. Miller, Chair Rae Hunter-Havens, Director
James Battle Morgan, Jr. Secretary Jessica O’Neill, Program & Outreach Coordinator
Natalie Hinton-Stalling, Member Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administrative Technician
Bruce Kemp, Member Mark Payne, Board Legal Counsel
Tom S. Morris, Member
Visitor(s): Tufanna Bradley, Assistant County Manager
AGENDA ITEMS
1.Meeting Opening
a.Call to Order
b.Pledge of Allegiance
c.Approval of Agenda
d.Approval of Minutes
2.Public Comment Period
•2-minute limit
•20-minute limit total
3.Director Update
a.Financial Update
b.List Maintenance
c.FY 25/26 Requested Budget Enhancements
4.General Discussion
•Other Elections-Related Matters
5.Closed Session (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 143-318.11(a)(3) and (a)(6)
6.Adjournment
*Agenda packets are sent via email in advance of meetings.
Regular Meeting
New Hanover County Board of Elections
April 15, 2025
Subject:
Approval of Agenda
Summary:
N/A
Board Action Required:
Staff recommends approval
Item # 1c
Regular Meeting
New Hanover County Board of Elections
April 15, 2025
Subject:
Approval of Minutes
Applicable Statutes and/or Rules
N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 163-31(e) and 143-318.10(e)
Summary:
This includes minutes from 3/11/2025 meeting.
Board Action Required:
Staff recommends approval
Item # 1dItem # 1d
Board Minutes – 03/11/2025 Page | 1
REGULAR MEETING
New Hanover County Board of Elections
March 11, 2025
5:30 P.M.
ATTENDANCE
Members: Derrick R. Miller, Chair
James Battle Morgan, Jr., Secretary
Natalie Hinton-Stalling, Member
Bruce Kemp, Member
Tom Morris, Member
Staff:Rae Hunter-Havens, Executive Director
Caroline Dawkins, Deputy Director
Gina Herring, Elections Specialist – Voter Registration
Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administrative Elections Technician
Mark Payne, Board Legal Counsel
Visitors: Tufanna Bradley, Assistant County Manager
Public Attendees: Clarice Reber, League of Women Voters LCF; Wendy Hunt,
NHCDP
Virtual Attendees: Jana Albritton, League of Women Voters LCF; Margot Degnet
Deluny; Denise Brown; Keith
1.MEETING OPENING
a.Call to Order
Chair Miller called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. The New Hanover County Board of
Elections meeting was held in the Board of Elections office, 226 Government Center
Drive, Wilmington, NC. All members were present.
Chair Miller reminded the audience, Board and staff to silence their cell phones; that the
meeting is being recorded and live streamed over the internet; and that, with more
sensitive microphones, it is essential that the audience avoid conversation and crosstalk
during Board discussion.
b.Pledge of Allegiance
Chair Miller invited all in attendance to rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Board Minutes – 03/11/2025 Page | 2
c. Approval of Agenda
Member Kemp moved to approve the agenda as submitted, seconded by Member Hinton-
Stalling. Motion carried unanimously.
d. Approval of Minutes
Chair Miller called for any corrections or additions to the minutes of the 1/14/2025 and
2/11/2025 minutes. Member Kemp proposed adding wording to the 1/14/2025 minutes
to section 5.c., Proposed FY 25-26 Budget Enhancements, to clarify that the requested
new part-time positions would reduce reliance on temporary employees. Director
Hunter-Havens said she would add the language used in the Enhancement Request.
Hearing no further changes, Chair Miller said the minutes of the 1/14/2025 and 2/11/2025
Board meetings are approved as amended by unanimous consent.
2._PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
Chair Miller called upon the public attendees for their comments or questions, limited to
two minutes each with a total maximum time of twenty minutes.
Seeing and hearing no public attendees wishing to comment, Chair Miller closed the
Public Comment period.
3. DIRECTOR’S REPORTS
Chair Miller called on Director Hunter-Havens for her reports.
a. Financial Update
Director Hunter-Havens reported that all outstanding invoices from the 2024 election
have been received and processed. Unspent funds within the Elections budget have been
transferred among line items with overages to maintain balance. We will incur additional
expenses for printing and postage for the NCOA mailing going out the week of March 17
and for staff training and travel to the State Board Conference at the end of the month.
With 94% of the approved budget spent, we will continue to do our best to work within
available funds for the remainder of this fiscal year.
b. List Maintenance
Director Hunter-Havens reported that routine list maintenance in February resulted in
removal of 548 voter registrations and processed 765 new registrations, 704 registrations
without changes, and 766 voter registration updates. The agenda packet includes
additional information about the sources of registration, snapshots of administrative
processes, and a breakdown of county voter registrations.
Board Minutes – 03/11/2025 Page | 3
c. Administrative Updates
• Appointment of Election Day Chief Judges and Judges
By statute, the Board will make the appointments for the 2025-27 term on Tuesday,
August 19, 2025. Deputy Director Dawkins and Elections Program and Outreach
Coordinator Jessica O’Neill plan to send out the survey by the end of this week to the
current pool of election officials to gauge interest and availability of experienced
officials to serve in these positions. Staff recommendations will be shared with the
local party chairs in May with an outline of the nomination and appointment process
and the criteria and procedures used in selecting officials to ensure transparency and
fairness in the process.
• Establishment of Facility Usage Agreements for Election Day Polling
Places
The current usage agreements expired on December 31, 2024. Staff have begun the
process to initiate new 2-year agreements based on a meticulous review to address
any necessary changes or updates.
• Municipal Jurisdictional Audits
Director Hunter-Havens said preparations for the municipal elections include
ensuring that voters are accurately assigned to the correct municipality and precincts.
We will be utilizing the NC State Board of Elections “On-Demand Jurisdictional
Audit” to perform a comprehensive municipal jurisdictional audit of SEIMS voter
registration data against jurisdictional maps to ensure that all voter municipal
assignments are correct. The Director outlined the steps involved in the jurisdictional
audit.
Director Hunter-Havens said she has sent estimates of the cost of each municipal
election to the municipal clerks. The Board will set the early voting sites by the
August 4 deadline.
4. GENERAL DISCUSSION
Chair Miller called on the Board to raise any election-related matters for Board
discussion. Hearing none, he called on Board Legal Counsel Mark Payne to discuss the
Memorandum of Law he prepared on the statutory authority of county boards of
commissioners relative to county boards of elections.
Mr. Payne said he did not prepare the memorandum of law as a response to the Parker
Poe report, more as a refresher for the Board to understand their role and authority. He
noted that the memorandum lies within attorney/client privilege unless the Board agreed
to waive the privilege, which he recommended, so that the report may be shared with the
county commissioners and legal staff. He discussed the significance of the NC Court of
Board Minutes – 03/11/2025 Page | 4
Appeals decision in Graham County Board of Elections v. Graham County Board of
Commissioners1 in clarifying the interwoven relationships among the county boards of
elections, county boards of commissioners, and the State Board of Elections.
Chair Miller consulted with the Board members who unanimously agreed to waive
attorney/client privilege and directed Director Hunter-Havens to share the memorandum
of law with the commissioners, county manager and county attorney on behalf of this
Board.
Mr. Payne said that the litigation challenging the constitutionality of provisions in NC
Session Law 2024-747 (SB 747) is now moving into the discovery phase. Director
Hunter-Havens has received a subpoena and will be deposed on March 20. He said he
plans to appear with the Director for the deposition and would like to schedule a meeting
with County Attorney Jordan Smith and legal staff afterward.
4. CLOSED SESSION
Chair Miller said there is no business requiring a closed session and called for a motion to
adjourn the meeting.
5. ADJOURNMENT
Member Morris moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Member Kemp. Motion
carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:16 p.m.
The next Board meeting is scheduled to be held on April 15, 2025, at 5:30 p.m., at the
Board of Elections office, 226 Government Center Drive, Wilmington, NC.
APPROVED BY: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
_______________________________ _____________________________
JAMES BATTLE MORGAN, JR. RAE HUNTER-HAVENS
SECRETARY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR
1 212 NC App. 313 (2011)
Regular Meeting
New Hanover County Board of Elections
April 15, 2025
Subject:
Public Comment Period
Summary:
This is an opportunity for members of the public to provide comments on election-related matters. Each
commenter will be limited to two minutes. There is a limit of 20 minutes total for the public comment
period.
Board Action Required:
Discuss as necessary
Item # 2
Regular Meeting
New Hanover County Board of Elections
April 15, 2025
Subject:
Director’s Report
Summary:
a. Financial Update
The attached YTD FY24-25 budget report provides the Board with a financial update through the
9th period (March) of this fiscal year.
b. List Maintenance Update
Per data provided from the Statewide Elections Information Management System
(SEIMS), the New Hanover County Board of Elections completed the following in March
of 2025:
• Removed 429 voters from the voter registration rolls consistent with NC Gen.
Stat. §163-82.14.
• Processed 629 new registrations, 358 duplicate registrations, and 636
registration updates.
• The National Change of Address Program (NCOA) requires county boards of
elections in NC to make a diligent effort twice a year (1) to remove names of
ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters, and (2) to update the
addresses and other necessary data of persons who remain on the official lists
of eligible voters. In March, our office mailed 2,870 NCOA cards to voters who
have a change of address on file with the U.S. Postal Service. Voters in the
following categories are excluded from the statewide NCOA mailing:
o Voters in Inactive Status
o Military and overseas voters eligible under the federal Uniformed and
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)
o Voters who have registered within the past 95 days
o Voters who have updated or confirmed their address within the past 95
days
The NC State Board of Elections provides all 100 county boards with change of
address data from the U.S. Postal Service for voters in their respective counties.
Voters are sent a confirmation mailing at the address on file with the U.S. Postal
Service and asked to return the card to the county board within 30 days to
confirm their legal voting residence. If the voter fails to return the card within
30 days, the voter is mailed a traditional confirmation notice at the mailing
address in their registration record. If the voter does not respond to the notice
within 30 days, their registration status will be changed to Inactive.
Item # 2 Item # 3
c. FY 25/26 Requested Budget Enhancement
At the Budget Work Session on March 20, 2025, the County Manager, Chris Coudriet,
recommended the following Board of Elections enhancements to the County Commissioners
based on his interpretation of our operational needs:
Election Official Management Software $ 19,844
Elections Education & Outreach Communication Coordinator $ 96,103 (Reassigned Position)
Addition Staff $150,000
$265,947
The additional staff allocation of $150,000 is still $116,808 short of what is needed to comply
with the full ask of the county board of elections.
Document/s Included:
Financial Year-To-Date Budget Report 9th Period (March); NVRA Report (March 2025)
Board Action Required:
Discuss as necessary
NEW HANOVER COUNTY - LIVE
YEAR-TO-DATE BUDGET REPORT
Report generated: 04/11/2025 13:16User: rhavensProgram ID: glytdbud
Page 1
FOR 2025 09
ACCOUNTS FOR: ORIGINAL TRANFRS/ REVISED AVAILABLE PCT110 GENERAL FUND APPROP ADJSTMTS BUDGET YTD EXPENDED ENCUMBRANCES BUDGET USED
16 BOARD OF ELECTIONS
60 SALARIES & BENEFITS
11016100 610000 SALARIES AND WA 564,622 0 564,622 390,789.26 .00 173,832.74 69.2%
11016100 611500 CASUAL PART TIM 360,373 -15,000 345,373 354,114.32 .00 -8,741.32 102.5%
11016100 611600 OVERTIME PAY (O 9,932 0 9,932 18,178.94 .00 -8,246.94 183.0%
11016100 612000 CELL PHONE ALLO 0 675 675 450.00 .00 225.00 66.7%
11016100 621000 SOCIAL SECURITY 42,813 0 42,813 43,688.68 .00 -875.68 102.0%
11016100 622000 RETIREMENT-LOCA 76,959 0 76,959 55,697.19 .00 21,261.81 72.4%
11016100 623500 GENERAL 401-K M 13,619 0 13,619 10,216.01 .00 3,402.99 75.0%
11016100 625000 MEDICAL INSURAN 87,336 0 87,336 49,983.83 .00 37,352.17 57.2%
11016100 626000 LONG TERM DISAB 1,471 0 1,471 676.07 .00 794.93 46.0%
TOTAL SALARIES & BENEFITS 1,157,125 -14,325 1,142,800 923,794.30 .00 219,005.70 80.8%
70 OPERATING EXPENSES
11016100 700000 CONTR SERVS 128,063 52,000 180,063 171,144.87 3,600.00 5,318.13 97.0%
11016100 700328 LEASE EXPENSE 48,385 0 48,385 40,740.37 6,463.22 1,181.41 97.6%
11016100 700329 SUBSCRIPTION SO 16,542 0 16,542 10,222.82 .00 6,319.18 61.8%
11016100 700330 RENT 67,599 0 67,599 66,539.00 .00 1,060.00 98.4%
11016100 700350 ADVERTISING COS 2,250 0 2,250 1,699.13 .00 550.87 75.5%
11016100 700365 CELLULAR EXPENS 17,819 0 17,819 11,400.40 .00 6,418.60 64.0%
11016100 700370 POSTAGE EXPENSE 105,083 -13,000 92,083 72,250.53 19,761.68 70.79 99.9%
11016100 700430 M&R-EQUIPMENT 70,371 0 70,371 68,167.58 .00 2,203.42 96.9%
11016100 700500 PRINTING 88,297 46,290 134,587 127,292.42 7,294.19 .39 100.0%
11016100 700512 PRINTER-COPIER 51,507 -15,424 36,083 26,237.94 .00 9,845.06 72.7%
11016100 700520 SUPPLIES 11,954 9,500 21,454 19,626.65 .00 1,827.35 91.5%
11016100 700542 SUPPLIES-COMPUT 2,600 850 3,450 3,429.17 .00 20.83 99.4%
11016100 700700 DUES & SUBSCRIP 125 0 125 .00 .00 125.00 .0%
11016100 700825 EMPLOYEE REIMBU 2,500 0 2,500 2,277.62 .00 222.38 91.1%
11016100 700905 TRAINING & TRAV 8,700 0 8,700 6,467.35 376.19 1,856.46 78.7%
TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES 621,795 80,216 702,011 627,495.85 37,495.28 37,019.87 94.7%
TOTAL BOARD OF ELECTIONS 1,778,920 65,891 1,844,811 1,551,290.15 37,495.28 256,025.57 86.1%
TOTAL GENERAL FUND 1,778,920 65,891 1,844,811 1,551,290.15 37,495.28 256,025.57 86.1%
TOTAL EXPENSES 1,778,920 65,891 1,844,811 1,551,290.15 37,495.28 256,025.57
NEW HANOVER COUNTY - LIVE
YEAR-TO-DATE BUDGET REPORT
Report generated: 04/11/2025 13:16User: rhavensProgram ID: glytdbud
Page 2
FOR 2025 09
ORIGINAL TRANFRS/ REVISED AVAILABLE PCT APPROP ADJSTMTS BUDGET YTD EXPENDED ENCUMBRANCES BUDGET USED
GRAND TOTAL 1,778,920 65,891 1,844,811 1,551,290.15 37,495.28 256,025.57 86.1%
** END OF REPORT - Generated by RAE HUNTER-HAVENS **
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
NVRA REPORT
Reporting Period:-3/1/2025 3/31/2025
Totals
Active 157,760
Inactive 23,518
Total Registration 181,278
REPORTING PERIOD
Registrations Approved 1,206
Total Registrations Removed 429
Inactive Registrations Removed 112
New Registrations
00 - No Application Source 0
01 - Public Assistance 14
02 - Disability 1
03 - Other (ESC) 0
04 - Armed Forces 0
05 - DMV 567
06 - Mail-in 6
07 - In-person 8
08 - Library & High School 0
09 - Spanish Language Application 0
10 - Online Registration 18
17 - Registration Drives 14
21 - Medicaid Renewal 1
96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 0
97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 0
629
Duplicates
00 - No Application Source 34
01 - Public Assistance 7
02 - Disability 0
03 - Other (ESC) 0
04 - Armed Forces 0
05 - DMV 253
06 - Mail-in 19
07 - In-person 3
08 - Library & High School 0
09 - Spanish Language Application 0
10 - Online Registration 8
17 - Registration Drives 3
21 - Medicaid Renewal 0
95 - Voter Return of NCOA 6
96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 0
97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 0
98 - Voter Change On Confirmation 24
vtr_nvra_stat.rpt Page 1 of 5Apr 11, 2025 1:12 pm
NVRA REPORTNEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
99 - Voter Change On Verification 1
358
vtr_nvra_stat.rpt Page 2 of 5Apr 11, 2025 1:12 pm
NVRA REPORTNEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
Changes of Information
00 - No Application Source 32
01 - Public Assistance 8
02 - Disability 0
03 - Other (ESC) 0
04 - Armed Forces 0
05 - DMV 503
06 - Mail-in 24
07 - In-person 7
08 - Library & High School 0
09 - Spanish Language Application 0
10 - Online Registration 58
17 - Registration Drives 3
21 - Medicaid Renewal 1
95 - Voter Return of NCOA 0
96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 0
97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 0
98 - Voter Change On Confirmation 0
99 - Voter Change On Verification 0
636
Verifications
# of 1st & 2nd verification mailings sent 2,860
# of 1st NCOA mailings sent 2,870
# of 1st verification returned undeliverable 173
# of verification returned by voter 1
Confirmations
# of confirmations returned by voter 24
# of confirmations sent 420
# of confirmations returned undeliverable 194
# of confirmations not returned at all 13
COUNTY STATISTICAL
Constitution 19
Democratic 48,538
Green 136
Justice For All 16
Libertarian 1,320
No Labels 689
Republican 54,428
Unaffiliated 76,090
We The People 42
American Indian 395
Asian 1,541
Black 17,592
Multi-Racial 764
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 17
White 137,130
Other 4,759
Undesignated 19,080
vtr_nvra_stat.rpt Page 3 of 5Apr 11, 2025 1:12 pm
NVRA REPORTNEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
Hispanic 4,477
Not Hispanic 110,289
Undesignated 66,512
Female 87,379
Male 73,351
Undesignated 20,548
Unprocessed Registrations - Incomplete Queue
00 - No Application Source 25
01 - Public Assistance 11
02 - Disability 0
03 - Other (ESC) 0
04 - Armed Forces 0
05 - DMV 125
06 - Mail-in 2
07 - In-person 0
08 - Library & High School 0
09 - Spanish Language Application 1
10 - Online Registration 1
17 - Registration Drives 0
21 - Medicaid Renewal 0
95 - Voter Return of NCOA 1
96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 0
97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 0
98 - Voter Change On Confirmation 1
99 - Voter Change On Verification 0
Unprocessed Registrations - Archive Queue
00 - No Application Source 1
01 - Public Assistance 0
02 - Disability 0
03 - Other (ESC) 0
04 - Armed Forces 0
05 - DMV 0
06 - Mail-in 6
07 - In-person 0
08 - Library & High School 0
09 - Spanish Language Application 0
10 - Online Registration 0
17 - Registration Drives 1
21 - Medicaid Renewal 0
95 - Voter Return of NCOA 0
96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 0
97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 0
98 - Voter Change On Confirmation 0
99 - Voter Change On Verification 0
Unprocessed Registrations - Review Queue
00 - No Application Source 6
01 - Public Assistance 0
02 - Disability 0
03 - Other (ESC) 0
vtr_nvra_stat.rpt Page 4 of 5Apr 11, 2025 1:12 pm
NVRA REPORTNEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
04 - Armed Forces 0
05 - DMV 6
06 - Mail-in 0
07 - In-person 1
08 - Library & High School 0
09 - Spanish Language Application 0
10 - Online Registration 1
17 - Registration Drives 0
21 - Medicaid Renewal 0
96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 0
97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 0
vtr_nvra_stat.rpt Page 5 of 5Apr 11, 2025 1:12 pm
Regular Meeting
New Hanover County Board of Elections
April 15, 2025
Subject:
General Discussion
Summary:
This is an opportunity for discussion on other elections-related matters not included in the
meeting agenda.
Board Action Required:
Discuss as necessary
Item # 4
Regular Meeting
New Hanover County Board of Elections
April 15, 2025
Subject:
Closed Session
Chairman Statement Prior to Closed Session:
I move that the Board enter into closed session, under N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 143-318.11(a)(3) and
(a)(6) to discuss personnel matters and receive legal guidance.
Applicable Statutes and/or Rules:
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-318.11(a)(3) and (a)(6)
Summary:
Closed session is required to discuss personnel matters and receive any legal advice from counsel,
either from the county attorney’s office or from newly selected outside counsel under §§ 143-
318.11(a)(3) and (a)(6).
Board Action Required:
Discuss as necessary
Returning to Open Session:
I move that the Board return to open session, under N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 143-318.11(a)(3) and (a)(6), to
conduct business remaining before the Board.
Item # 2 Item # 5