Erica Techo
Shelby County Probate Judge Jim Fuhrmeister addresses the Shelby County Commission at its Feb. 26 meeting. Fuhrmeister told the commission about potential electronic voter sign-in equipment they hoped to buy, and the commission later approved the purchase.
Upcoming elections were a large part of the discussion at the Feb. 26 Shelby County Commission meeting.
During its last meeting of February, the Commission voted to approve the purchase of hardware and software for an electronic sign-in system for poll locations, as well as to approve polling location changes.
Probate Judge Jim Fuhrmeister said the county tried an electronic voting sign-in system on a pilot basis in 2016, and the system went smoothly and quickly. Instead of multiple sign-in tables based on last names, Fuhrmeister said a voter would go to one of one, two or three sign-in stations, swipe their license or voter ID, and their information would come up through the system. The poll worker and individual would verify their identity, and then the voter would receive their ballot.
“Based on our experience, the sign-in process moved very quickly. The adjustment we’re going to have to make is we get them through the line so quick, we’re going to have to have more tables on the backend to sit down and vote,” Fuhrmeister said.
A central communication feature in the system would also allow for quick communication regarding needs for more ballots, pens or other needs at the polls. Deputies assigned to the polls would also have apps.
While there were concerns about some older poll workers being able to use the system, he added, there were no issues. The system is intuitive, he said, and they received positive feedback from poll workers and voters.
The bid price was $171,000, Fuhrmeister said, and the Probate Court would contribute some of its remaining HAVA (Help America Vote Act) funds to go toward the project. According to the resolution approved by the commission, $151,000 would be provided from the county’s general fund IT capital project/ equipment budget. This amount was in addition to the $25,000 from the HAVA grant funds.
In addition to the amount for the items included in the bid — iPads, mi-fi mobile hotspots and software — there will be a monthly connectivity cost for the mi-fi units. This cost, for two months, will be addressed with budget funds or savings from the probate general fund budget, according to the resolution.
The commission voted 7-0 to approve the bid. The new equipment will be used in June at the primary election, in addition to July if there is a runoff.
Also at the meeting, the commission approved various polling location changes.
Pastor Michael Brooks of Siluria Baptist Church, one of the locations that would no longer serve as a polling location if the resolution was approved, spoke before the commission at the start of the meeting. He asked that the commission reconsider, as the church enjoyed acting as a polling location and saw it as a way to serve the community.
The changes were recommended based on the needs for space and number of available poll workers, Manager of Community Services Reggie Holloway told the commission.
The changes, County Manager Alex Dudchock said, is not any negative light on the polling locations or the facilities, but rather based on the dynamics Holloway mentioned.
Fuhrmeister also thanked Brooks and his church for acting as a polling location.
“We have gone from 47 physical locations to 43. We have combined some smaller ones, where if you go out on election day, you’ll have four poll workers and nobody in the room, and you’ll wait a while and a voter will come in. So we’ve consolidated some polling places to enable us to find some poll workers,” Fuhrmeister said, adding that he acknowledged the change would be better on the whole, even though it might make this year “a little more difficult” because voters would travel to new locations.
Some of the changes included:
- BlackWatch Sports in Chelsea will be redistributed to North Shelby Baptist Church
- Voting will move from First Baptist Church Pelham Annex to the Pelham Park Recreation Center
- Voting will move from Alabaster First United Methodist Church to the RESTORE facility in Alabaster
- The Bible Baptist Church Wilton’s voting will be eliminated, and voters will go to the Montevallo Parks and Recreation building
- Voting at Maylene Pentecostal Lighthouse Church, Southside Baptist Church will go to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
The commission voted 6-1 to approve the changes, with Commissioner Ward Williams voting against the resolution.
Also at the meeting, the commission:
- Awarded bids for field uniform garments and aviation fuel.
- Approved a resolution supporting the plans for the Alabama Scenic River Trail to establish three small boat campsites within the county — two at Beeswax Creek Park and one at Gorman Park.
- Approved the appointments of Jim Martin to the Board of Equalization, Fredericka Henne to the Shelby County Department of Human Resource Board and Michael Smith to the Harrison Regional Library Board.
Other agenda items included a right-of-way usage agreement with Double Oak Water Reclamation and Shelby Ridge Utility System, but Dudchock informed the commission that that document was not ready for discussion and would not come up at the meeting. Another agenda item, the opioid litigation report, was also not discussed at the meeting.
At the end of the agenda, the commission voted to go into executive session to discuss ongoing litigation. Following the meeting, no vote would be taken or decision made, Dudchock said.
