Harnett County Board of Elections introduces assistant director and readies ballot-on-demand rollout
January 05, 2026 | Harnett County, North Carolina
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The Harnett County Board of Elections on Jan. 8 formally introduced Sarah Rafie as the board’s new assistant director and detailed staff changes and plans to deploy ballot-on-demand equipment for the upcoming primary.
Sarah Rafie, who said she previously worked in Pinellas County, Florida, described a background in communications coordination, poll-worker management, campaign-finance tasks and candidate qualifying. Director-level staff noted Rafie will work with the supervisor of elections and bring experience from a larger jurisdiction as Harnett County grows.
Staff reported an internal promotion: Kelly Casper moved from election specialist to election technician. The election-specialist posting closed with 38 applicants; staff said they plan to select two candidates from that pool and proposed conducting interviews with staff members (Sarah, Kelly and the director) absent HR involvement unless the board requests it.
On equipment, staff said they had received a purchasing agreement from Election Systems & Software (ES&S), that county funds were allocated and the contract was routing for legal review. ES&S is preparing the equipment stock to ensure delivery in time for staff training ahead of the primary, staff said. The board was told the vendor will provide support and that staff plan phased training: initial instruction for assistants, a deeper session for judges focused on roles and problem-solving, and in-person vendor and staff support at early-voting sites during the first days of operation.
Board members asked whether a machine could be available at poll-worker training; staff said they would try to have at least one unit but could not guarantee it because of delivery and training timing. Staff emphasized hands-on, in-person training for judges and early-voting staff and said they would be on-site during early voting until poll workers demonstrate confidence with the new system.
The board set a deadline for party chairs to submit early-voting worker lists by Jan. 29 so the board could consider approvals at its Feb. 3 meeting. Staff also said they will submit a supplemental list of unaffiliated election workers for consideration.
The board expects the ballot-on-demand technology to reduce some processing steps at the polling place and that careful, hands-on training will be essential to avoid errors during the first elections using the equipment.
Sarah Rafie, who said she previously worked in Pinellas County, Florida, described a background in communications coordination, poll-worker management, campaign-finance tasks and candidate qualifying. Director-level staff noted Rafie will work with the supervisor of elections and bring experience from a larger jurisdiction as Harnett County grows.
Staff reported an internal promotion: Kelly Casper moved from election specialist to election technician. The election-specialist posting closed with 38 applicants; staff said they plan to select two candidates from that pool and proposed conducting interviews with staff members (Sarah, Kelly and the director) absent HR involvement unless the board requests it.
On equipment, staff said they had received a purchasing agreement from Election Systems & Software (ES&S), that county funds were allocated and the contract was routing for legal review. ES&S is preparing the equipment stock to ensure delivery in time for staff training ahead of the primary, staff said. The board was told the vendor will provide support and that staff plan phased training: initial instruction for assistants, a deeper session for judges focused on roles and problem-solving, and in-person vendor and staff support at early-voting sites during the first days of operation.
Board members asked whether a machine could be available at poll-worker training; staff said they would try to have at least one unit but could not guarantee it because of delivery and training timing. Staff emphasized hands-on, in-person training for judges and early-voting staff and said they would be on-site during early voting until poll workers demonstrate confidence with the new system.
The board set a deadline for party chairs to submit early-voting worker lists by Jan. 29 so the board could consider approvals at its Feb. 3 meeting. Staff also said they will submit a supplemental list of unaffiliated election workers for consideration.
The board expects the ballot-on-demand technology to reduce some processing steps at the polling place and that careful, hands-on training will be essential to avoid errors during the first elections using the equipment.
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