Administrator of elections reports fewer provisional issues, helpline handled 626 calls; commission to use thermal paper and expand poll officials

AOE Roberts briefed the Davidson County Election Commission on operational lessons from the March election and preparations for upcoming elections, reporting improvements in provisional processing, helpline performance and poll-official recruitment.

Roberts said provisionals improved: about 6% of provisionals were for no photo ID (many later produced ID or corrected the issue), 36 voters updated incomplete registrations on election day allowing their votes to be counted, and only eight voters appeared at the wrong precinct. "We had 36 people that actually came out to vote and updated their registration and gave us the information we needed on that day," Roberts said.

Roberts also reported the commission’s helpline took 626 calls on election day and handled poll-worker questions, noting the administration expects heavier volumes for August and November and is staffing the helpline accordingly. "On election day, we took 626 calls into the helpline that day," Roberts said.

To address printer reliability and reduce toner and paper costs, Roberts said the state has approved using thermal paper rolls for early-voting applications, replacing 8.5-by-14 paper that required toner. Roberts said trials at early-voting locations showed fewer printer failures using the new rolls.

On staffing, Roberts said the commission had 98 poll officials in the recent election and expects roughly 1,150 for August and possibly 1,350 for November. He added that technology (DocuSign) sped onboarding and allowed the commission to add 56 poll officials in February.

The report was informational; commissioners asked follow-up questions about staffing and facility moves but did not change policy or attach conditions to the operational recommendations during this meeting.